Love After War
by ThatGirlWhoLaughsAtCatVideos
Summary: Carol lives a lonely life with her daughter Sophia and is in a loveless abusive marriage with her 'high school sweetheart' Ed and doesn't know how to escape. On the night of one of the worst storms in 5 years her life changes after she meets Daryl Dixon, and begins a developing love affair with him. But their affair quickly becomes dangerous when suspicions are raised. Caryl AU
1. Chapter 1

Love after War

Carol winced as she carefully applied the concealer to her dark eye. Ed had hit her again after another drunken rant about how she 'don't appreciate him busting his ass at work all day' Carol sighed tiredly Ed was a fucking idiot, she stared painfully at her short silver hair in the mirror and closed her eyes remembering Ed's strong hands gripping her by her curls and snipping away with the scissors she missed her hair more than anything, she evoked how she had to lie to Lori and Andrea about what really happened to her hair, having to lie saying she was 'just getting bored of her curls'

She sighed again applying the last little bit of concealer over her black eye, the only bit of makeup Ed would allow her to buy so people wouldn't know the truth about what went on behind their closed doors. Carol glanced up at herself properly in the mirror; everything was completely covered up and hidden away from people's suspicions. She carefully opened the old bathroom door and moved steadily into the living room.

"Ed, I'm just gonna drop Sophia off at school" she called out nervously.

Ed casually sat up in his old dirty chair, "You better hurry the hell up, this house is a damn mess and it aint my job to clean it" he growled

"Yes sweetie" she swallowed the word sweetie made her stomach turn, "I understand, I'll get back as soon as possible" she squeaked her eyes carefully searching the room for Sophia.

"Good" he mumbled lying backwards like an old bear in his chair.

Carol sighed and delicately leaned herself against the kitchen counter waiting for Sophia to leave her bedroom, she silently shut her eyes and breathed carefully.

"Just a friendly reminder from Channel 5, remember to stay indoors tonight and make sure you have supplies as we all know tonight is the going to be on record the worst storm we've had in 5 years. Stay safe everybody!" Smiled the woman from the old television set

Carol glanced at the television screen she envied the beautiful woman on the news, she couldn't remember the last time she'd properly felt beautiful not since she'd married Ed at least.

"Mommy?"

Carol turned her head sharply to see Sophia standing by the door patiently with her pink school bag hanging on her shoulder resting underneath her short blonde hair,

"Ready to go?" Carol smiled softly

As Carol opened the front door to their house she suddenly heard the loud voice of Merle Dixon yelling across the road, another one of Ed's obnoxious friends Carol thought to herself annoyed, suddenly another man came into view as Merle's back left the view of her eyes. A younger man, with dirty chestnut hair and deep blue eyes which seemed to squint every time another word came from Merle's mouth. His face was hard with a messy stubble; Carol was completely fascinated with this man's face it had struck her so quickly. He slowly glanced at her but suddenly moved his eyes to focus back at Merle.

"Mommy, who is that?" asked Sophia

"I…I don't know sweetheart one of daddy's friends I think"

"Why is he yelling at him?"

"I don't know sweetie, come on we should leave before you're late to school" squeaked Carol wrapping her left arm around Sophia's shoulder guiding her away from the view of the two men.

….

Carol kneeled in front of Sophia delicately, "As soon as the bell goes come straight outside I'll be here waiting for you, like I always am okay sweetheart?" smiled Carol weakly

"Okay" mumbled Sophia wrapping her small slender arms around Carol before darting towards the classrooms.

"Have a good day!" waved Carol as she stood in the middle of the schoolyard.

As soon as the wave of children disappeared from the schoolyard Carol's stomach began to squeeze as she thought about going home. Sometimes she wish she could just run away with Sophia but she knew what would happen if she even tried to run, Ed would kill her. She closed her eyes softly trying not to think about it.

"Carol!" called a voice

Carol turned to see Lori approaching her along with Andrea, Carol faked a small smile.

"Carol, how are you? It's been a while since we've seen each other sometimes I have to wonder if you're a ghost" laughed Lori sweetly.

"Oh you know I've been….busy" she lied hesitantly

She glanced down at the silver watch on Andrea's wrist, she needed to leave now. Andrea smiled as she watched Carol staring down at her wrist.

"Oh you like it? Dale gave it to me last night as a 'gesture of love' as he says" she laughed

"That's nice…" Carol squeaked, she continued to look at the time on her wrist "You know I've really got to be going I've got work to do…"

Lori frowned, "You've only just got here Carol, come on Andrea and me are going back to my house for lunch you should join us. It's Rick's day off so he offered to cook" smiled Lori

Huh Ed's never done that for me Carol thought jealously, but she shook her head again

"I really need to go maybe another time" She squeaked beginning to turn her back on the two women.

"Carol wait!" called Andrea grabbing onto her arm softly.

Carol let out a small yelp of pain and quickly moved her other hand to cover the bruise on her arm, Andrea silently narrowed her eyes down at Carol's bruise.

"Where'd you get that Carol?" she asked her voice suddenly sounding serious.

She lowered her head in shame, her voice suddenly felt uncomfortably dry and her heart was beginning to hammer in her chest, she could still feel Andrea's soft grip on her.

"I…I hit it on the door last night I must've tripped…" she peeped calmly

She couldn't look up at Lori or Andrea she knew they both knew the truth and she was true embarrassed to face it properly. Andrea's hand lost its grip on Carol and slowly limped back to her side.

"It was Ed wasn't it?"

Carol kept her head low trying to pretend she couldn't hear Andrea's accusations, she turned her body away from the two of them gracefully and began to pace away from them quickly,

"I'll see you later I need to prepare for the storm" she mumbled she was sure they could hear her, but even if they couldn't she didn't care.

…..

Carol breaths began to quicken as she sprinted up the street hoping to get home quick enough, away from people's questions. Come on Carol only a few more blocks you can get there she thought to herself motivationally. Suddenly she felt something big and hard bump into her, she fell to the ground sharply and looked up to see Merle Dixon grinning down at her.

"Well hello lil darlin'

Carol smiled softly at him; she wished he would just leave her alone. Merle was a man just like Ed and she despised him he made her feel uncomfortable every time he came into contact with her. She remembered one summer when Merle had come over and had insulted her over and over saying her place was 'In the kitchen' and Ed had laughed with him. She wished she could have stood up for herself.

"Aint you talkin'?"

Carol remained silent

"Huh, so you a mouse today? Should probably look where you goin' sugar tits"

Carol's stomach began to turn again.

Sugar Tits

Merle suddenly stuck one dirty hand down to her; she stared at the hand confused

"What you gon' stay down there all day or what?"

Carol carefully gripped Merle's hand and pulled herself up,

"Thank you" she mumbled

Merle smirked and wrapped his arm around her waist sharply, Oh God Carol thought to herself disgustedly

"So you seen Ed?"

Carol shook her head, "I'm just going home to meet him now"

"Well if you see him tell him poker's at my place tonight"

"Poker?"

Carol detached herself from Merle carefully,

"What about the storm tonight?"  
"What about the storm?" Merle growled his voice changing from his original friendly tone

"Will you be safe?" asked Carol shakily changing the original sentence she had planned to say.

Merle chuckled brightly and placed his hand around Carol's slender waist again, "Don't you worry lil darlin' I got what I need, food, beer, guns you name it" he smirked

Carol nodded silently, trying to casually remove Merle's dirty hand from around her waist.

"Hey Kenny!" roared Merle quickly removing his hand from Carol's waist.

He sprinted across the street smiling at the older gentleman, "You up for poker tonight!?"

Carol let out a small sigh of relief and quickly paced towards her house, trying to avoid looking back at Merle. Carol carefully slid her keys into the door and pushed it open silently praying Ed was asleep or at least out of the house. She crept through the dark living room, the woman on the news was still reading out the headlines and Ed was perched in his dirty old chair. She sighed with relief.

"What the hell took you so long?" mumbled Ed sloppily

Carol immediately stopped in her tracks,

"I was speaking to some friends…" Carol said swallowing

"Friends? You aint got time for friends"

Carol nodded, "I know Ed I'm sorry"

"Should be cookin' and cleanin' like a good wife" he snapped

Carol jumped at the sudden raise in Ed's voice, she quickly scrambled towards the kitchen,

"I'm Sorry I'll start cleaning" she murmured grabbing the cleaning liquid sitting next to the sink

"Good" hissed Ed grabbing the bottle of beer sitting next to his chair, he shook it and quickly dropped it back to the ground, "Carol grab me another beer from the fridge will ya?"

Carol quickly dropped the plate and sprinted towards the fridge,

"Come on! Hurry your ass up!" he barked

Carol grabbed the cold beer from the fridge and hastily ran towards Ed with it, he snatched it from her sharply and shoved it in his dirty mouth. Carol looked away disgusted.

"You know I saw Merle Dixon outside" she said hesitantly as she walked back towards the kitchen.

Ed sat up groggily, "You aint messin' with Dixon are ya?" he growled

Carol shook her head, "Of course not he just told me to tell you poker is at his house tonight" she muttered

Ed chuckled and dropped his beer down to the ground, Carol swallowed softly and turned back to look at him,

"You leaving me alone in the storm tonight?" she asked hesitantly.

She shouldn't have asked; but she had just let it slip out.

"Yeah you got a problem with that?" he snarled

"No not at all!" she rushed, "I just want to make sure you're safe tonight"

Ed chuckled again and walked over to Carol calmly,

"I'm a grown ass man, I'm always fine" he smirked

Carol lowered her head focusing on the dishes in the sink again,

"I know Ed" she murmured softly.

Ed smirked and suddenly Carol felt his immense grimy hands grab her by the waist, he roughly pulled her petite slender figure close into his and kissed her unflatteringly. She could feel his disgusting stubble brushing against her jaw and she hated it. She hated it when Ed treated her like this, she didn't feel good, she felt weak and under his power. She wasn't his wife she was his toy with breasts. Finally he let go of her wiping his mouth.

"I'm goin' out for a few hours, house better be clean by the time I get back"

Carol nodded silently as she watched Ed grab his coat and leave the house, as soon as the door slammed shut she began to wipe her mouth vigorously.

Ed was a fucking idiot. And so was she.

She sighed gloomily and moved sluggishly to the sink again, Carol carefully turned towards the radio on the counter and switched it on, this was the only time of day she could do this while Ed was gone. He hated her taste in music saying it was shitty music but after all what does he expect marrying a 'Dumb bitch like Carol'. The music boomed out of the radio swiftly,

'Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try to fix you' the soothing voices suddenly made tears begin to stream down her face. But she quickly wiped them away and began to hum to the music, as she cleaned the dishes softly.

"You lost the money!?" screeched a loud voice

Carol glanced up in the window to see the young man again, this time being yelled at by another man, a lot smaller than Merle.

"So what huh? Aint my fault" snapped the younger man gruffly

"You're a worthless piece of shit you know that?!" growled the other man

Carol lowered her head and closed the blinds she didn't want to hear that, she'd heard that enough already from her husband. Carol miserably switched the radio off, she wasn't in the mood for music anymore.

…..

Carol flung herself onto the couch exhausted the whole damn house was finally clean, she glanced over on the kitchen counter and noticed one of the bottles of wine Lori and Rick had given her for her birthday. She quickly slid herself off the chair and snatched the bottle bringing it back over to the couch, suddenly the bottle was at her lips and she began drinking down nearly the whole bottle her stomach was beginning to turn again but she didn't care. She stared down at the bruise on her arm and then the belt scars on her other arm.

Tears began flooding from her eyes, she shut them tightly and hurled herself onto the couch sobbing into the cushions. This damn life. This damn life she had trapped herself in. Her knees soon began curling up into her arms and she felt herself letting everything out all over again. Her hands clutched her short grey hair as she sobbed herself into a deep sleep…

…

Carol felt awful her head ached, her stomach felt like it was doing backflips and her heart was still racing. After she had woken up from her slightly drunken sleep she had to rush out of the house not having time to fix herself up to pick up Sophia. She wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone right now especially Merle or Ed.

"Hey Carol!" called Lori

Carol sighed remembering their encounter earlier, she turned around forcing a smile at Lori and her husband Rick. Suddenly she noticed the expression on their faces change,

"Carol are you okay? You seem tense" asked Rick hesitantly.

"I'm fine…why do you ask?" she asked.

"What happened to your eye?" he asked stepping closer to her.

Carol immediately put her slender fingers to her eye, The Concealer was damp and smudged on her finger, oh God she thought to herself sickly.

"I uh I walked into a door at home I tripped over one of Sophia's toys"

Rick paused for a few seconds staring at her she knew he knew what had really happened he was a cop after all it was their job to be observant of these kind of things. She clutched her arm nervously hoping he wouldn't notice the bruise either.

"How's Ed Carol?" he asked finally speaking again

"He…He's fine" Carol squeaked,

Lori's soft hand suddenly rested on Carol's shoulder,

"You know if there's anything wrong Carol you can tell-"

"Mom" smiled Sophia emerging from the school Carol took a small breath of relief as she watched her pace over to them.

"I'm sorry Lori, I've really got to go the house isn't completely ready for the storm and I have to prepare" Carol said rushing off clutching Sophia's hand.

She didn't need any more questions about Ed, she was done with all the attention all she needed was to be alone for a few hours everything was just suddenly becoming overwhelming for her around her friends, she didn't want to leave them but she didn't want to get on the bad side of Ed again not after yesterday at least.

"Come on Sophia, we should go home so we can keep your daddy happy" Carol uttered quietly.

….

'Remember to stay safe tonight, don't go outside unless you really have to and make sure you have supplies it's gonna be a long night!' Smiled the newsreader on the television.

Sophia glanced up at Carol worriedly, she was curled up close to Carol clutching her arm as she usually did.

"Mom?" she whispered

Carol looked down at her, smiling warmly

"It's gonna be okay tonight sweetheart I'm here with you, as long as I'm here you're safe from any danger" she spoke her voice as sweet as honey.

The sound of keys suddenly could be here jangling in the door and Sophia's grip on Carol's arm rapidly grew tighter, Carol moved her soft hand to stroke Sophia's silky hair.

"It's okay baby" she whispered calmly

Ed stomped through the door bearlike, his eyes searched around the room until he found Carol on the couch,

"Go out to the store now" he snapped,

"Why? I've already bought food from the store for you" She replied carefully sitting up on the couch,

Ed took a sudden step forward,

"You Questionin' me?!" he barked

Carol swallowed lowering her head delicately,

"Of course not…I'll go out and get what you want just let me tuck Sophia in bed first please…" she murmured

"Fine just hurry your lazy ass up" snapped Ed throwing himself into his ancient dirty chair.

"Come on sweetheart off to bed" she breathed putting her slender arm around Sophia,

"Sophia!" snapped Ed

Sophia turned around immediately,

"Yes, Daddy?" she asked nervously.

"Why don't ya kiss your daddy goodnight huh?" he murmured

Carol's hand suddenly gripped tighter on her daughter's small shoulder,

"She needs to sleep Ed" she whispered

"Jus' get out of here then" he growled perching himself in his seat, crossing his arms over his enormous chest.

"Come on baby" Carol sighed guiding Sophia up the stairs.

…

Carol picked up the remaining cans of beer and dumped them into the basket with the rest of the food and beer Ed had ordered her to pick up.

Crash!

The storm was already beginning to start up and she was stuck in a store almost 2 blocks away from her home, she quickly paced over to the cashier, the lines weren't long considering everyone smart was still inside their homes staying out of the storm, she sighed as she moved her basket over for the cashier to scan them.

"Honey, what are you doing out here in the storm?" asked the Cashier, her tag had the name **Jacqui **written in bold.

Carol smiled softly, "I'm just stocking up for my husband"

Jacqui scanned the first few cans of beer swiftly,

"Is he the one that gave you that black eye?" she asked concerned

Carol lowered her head trying to hide her eye from the woman's view,

"No…no it was an accident I walked into a door…" she breathed

"I've heard that lie a million times and they all come back with fresh bruises" the woman said watching Carol sideways

"C…Can I just pay please?" she stuttered

"Sure honey"

Carol clumsily began searching through her purse for the money she had taken out of her drawer, she carefully slapped the money on the counter and grabbed the bags to avoid any further questions.

"And Honey!" called Jacqui

Carol sighed as she turned back to look at the woman at the counter,

"If he tries to hit you again, knock him out with a frying pan for me"

Carol warmed the woman with a small smile mouthing the words, 'Thank you' before she turned to leave the empty store into the beginning of a storm. Everything was beginning to dampen on, her clothes stuck to her like glue, she shuddered coldly as she walked through the town.

"You think you can fuck with us!?" Roared a voice,

Carol quickly turned to suddenly see a wave of men burst out of 'the Red Deer' bar,

"You think you can punch us in the mouths and get the fuck away with it!?" Yelled another man

She recognized one of the men, it was the man she had seen earlier speaking to Merle Dixon, she stood staring not knowing what to do.

Suddenly she heard a glass break as one of the men broke it on his head and kicked him to the ground,

"Aint so tough now are ya!" bellowed another man now knocking him to the ground.

The younger man looked up at them, his breaths were getting heavier and she could see the blood dripping from his mouth,

"That…That all you got!?" breathed the man gruffly.

Carol stood staring and terrified, should she help him? The storm was beginning to get worse and she didn't have time for a fight with possibly Ed's friends.

"Nah Man" chuckled one of the men, holding a heavy metal rod tightly in his hands.

The man swung and hit the younger man on his back, completely knocking him down all over again, this time he wasn't getting up, he lay there silently.

Is he dead? Thought Carol shakily.

"C'mon man leave this asshole out here, he deserves it" barked one of the other men.

The main man in their group nodded dropping the heavy metal rod back onto the ground with a thud, as soon as the crowd cleared up, Carol sprinted over to the young man lying on the ground, she couldn't leave him alone to die.

"Are you okay?" she whispered clasping his hand.

The younger man groaned holding on tightly to her soft hand,

"Can you speak?" she asked moving her hand to support his head slightly.

The man slowly moved lowered his head to the ground and closed his eyes, suddenly she began to panic moving her ear to his strong chest.

Two heart beats

"Okay" Carol whispered staring down at him, "I'll…I'll bring you somewhere safe"

She stared at his large, strong body planted on the ground,

But how the hell do I move you?

…..

Carol carefully laid the young man down on the couch, it had taken a whole half of an hour to walk him home with him resting most of his weight onto her through the rain, but she was glad to be finally home. She stared at him as he slept, she did have to admit he was handsome. Carol shook her head vigorously and quickly rushed to the kitchen cabinet to search for pain killers and bandages. Some of his wounds were bad. She carefully began binding the bruises around his arms, his mouth suddenly began to tremble, she noticed more blood beginning to drip from around his mouth, she wiped it carefully as she moved one of the pillows above his head to keep it level.

He probably needs water Carol thought to herself, hurrying herself to the fridge.

Crash

The storm began to crack above her house; it was beginning to get worse.

"Where….Where the hell am I?"

Carol turned around sharply to see the man now sitting up tiredly on her couch, she paced forwards hesitantly.

"My home, I found you passed out in the streets and brought you back here, and I cleaned your wounds for you" she squeaked nervously

"Why the hell did you do that?" he grunted

"You looked like you needed help and I didn't feel right leaving you..."

The man nodded while dragging himself up to sit up properly on the soft couch,

"You want something to drink or eat?" she asked walking towards the kitchen again

"Starvin'"

"I got some pie and water if you want that?" she called out

"Sure" he called back moving his eyes to search around the room

Carol moved back into the living room with a small slice of Cherry pie and a glass of water, she handed it to the man carefully as she sat down on the coffee table. He stared at her curiously his blue eyes shining,

"Don't I recognise you?" he asked gruffly

"I..I don't know"

"You're Ed Peletier's wife aint you?" he asked shoving a forkful of pie into his mouth

Carol nodded silently; she hated being only known as Ed Peletier's wife, the redneck's woman.

"You look different" he said his words muffled with the piece of pie in his mouth.

"I cut my hair a few months back…got sick of it…" she murmured

He nodded stuffing another part of the pie into his mouth,

"I've seen you with Merle Dixon"

"He's my brother"

Carol was immediately taken back,

"Brother? I didn't know he had a brother how come you're never with him?" she asked slightly leaning in forward to listen to him.

The man narrowed his eyes up at her and carefully put the plate on the ground, throwing his feet onto the couch swiftly,

"Aint got time for his crap" he said huskily

Carol nodded staring down at her small hands sitting in her lap,

"Where's your man?" he asked roughly

"With your brother I think…"

The man nodded again, "I better leave I think you patched me up"

Carol suddenly felt her hand touch the man's shoulder bringing him back to the couch,

"You should stay for the night, the storm seems pretty bad you know"

Why the hell was she insisting he stayed? She hardly knew him right now she could just let him leave and never see him again but something about him just made her want him to stay and she couldn't understand what the hell it was.

"I'm fine on my own" he grumbled again trying to stand up,

"You're an idiot then if you think you'll be okay out there, its suicide"

"Suicide?"

"Yes, you never know you could walk out that door and get smacked in the face with a stop sign" smiled Carol,

The man smirked back at her beginning to settle himself back onto the warm couch,

"Okay I'll stay then"

"I've got a spare room upstairs if you want to stay in it"

The man nodded and began to stand up his legs shaking, suddenly he lost his balance and began falling backwards onto the couch, Carol quickly reached her hand out to grab him by the shirt,

"I've got you" she smiled

The man nodded again and laid himself down on the couch,

"Maybe you should stay down here, I'll bring a blanket down for you if you like"

"Thanks" he mumbled staring at her,

Carol quickly gave him a small nod and sprinted up the dark stairs up to the spare bedroom, she switched on the light and began searching for a blanket around the room with her eyes, why the hell was she suddenly so excited? Was it the thrill of hiding someone behind Ed's back or was it simply just because there was a male she'd had a real conversation without questions or orders. She grinned to herself as she snatched up the blanket from underneath the cabinet, she raced downstairs but suddenly stopped in her tracks as she noticed Sophia sitting on the coffee table, tears falling from her eyes, the man was now sitting up and speaking to her.

"Sophia?" she called out

Sophia and the man both turned to look at her,

"Get to back to bed Sophia, okay?"

"Yes mommy" she whispered running back up the steps,

Carol walked over to the front of the man and passed him the blanket as she sat herself down on the coffee table,

"Your little girl was afraid of the storm, I told her there was nothin' to worry about, told her storms don't mess with Dixons, as long as I'm here she's okay" he said gruffly

Carol smiled warmly, "That's sweet"

The man shrugged again laying himself down properly on the couch, he stared up at her his arms crossed beneath his head,

"Will your man mind me stayin' here?" he asked

"I don't care, I can't stand him" she snapped sharply, the words had almost come out immediately.

The man began to look at her sideways, his eyes shining as he focused on her sudden serious expression, "Why's that?" he asked roughly wiping his wet hair out of his face

Carol sighed closing her eyes tightly, "It doesn't matter"

The man sat up abruptly, "It matters to me I need to know a little about the woman taking care of me so it don't end up like Misery" he said dryly.

Carol opened her eyes delicately and giggled quietly, it had been a while since anybody had properly made her giggle it almost came as a surprise to her,

"Okay" she said clearing her throat, "Ed treats me like trash" she said calmly still staring up at him.

The man blinked surprised, "A lady like you?" he asked in shock.

Carol immediately felt her cheeks go bright red, the last time a man had ever made her blush was when she first started dating Ed, this felt like a new feeling all over again.

"Yes" she said hoping her cheeks hadn't gone too brightly red.

The man looked up at her concerned, "What the hell does he do?" he snapped the gruffness in his voice getting stronger.

Carol's voice suddenly started to disappear inside of her, her fingers began fidgeting with each other and her head was beginning to lower itself. There was a long silence.

"He beats you don't he?" he said sounding quiet for the first time in the conversation

Carol gave a small nod trying to avoid looking the man in the eyes again,

"Why don't you leave his sorry ass then?" he snapped huskily

Carol sighed softly shaking her head sadly, "I've got Sophia and Ed's got so many friends around town they'd help him track us down and he'd kill me"

"Not if you went far enough" he mumbled resting his leg on the coffee table.

Carol sighed and turned to look at the door, just to make sure Ed wasn't coming back anytime soon. She suddenly smiled as she noticed the bottle of wine sitting on the counter.

"I've got wine over there, you want a drink?" she asked half leaning into the man.

The man shrugged tiredly, "Why not?" he smirked

Carol swiftly got up and began strolling towards the kitchen, she carefully grabbed the large bottle of wine and two glasses which had hardly been used, since Ed was mainly a fan of cheap beers from the store.

"I hope you like it" Carol smiled as she sat herself back down on the table.

The man returned the smile as she poured the ruby liquid into his glass, he raised it above his head,

"Cheers" he said sluggishly as he clinked his glass with Carol's.

The two sat in the warm room staring at each other as they both sipped their scarlet drinks until something hit Carol, how did he know about the beatings so quickly?

"Why did you assume he hit me so quickly?" asked Carol taking another sip of her drink.

The man didn't respond he just continued to sit there drinking, this time taking a large gulp as he watched her,

"Why were you out in that storm? Seems kind of dangerous for a lady" he breathed finally breaking the long silence

Carol grinned at him softly, "I can handle it" she said taking another large sip, "Well…Ed forced me out to buy him a couple of beers and food" she said quietly.

The man's grip on the glass suddenly grew tighter as he thumped it down sharply on the table, Carol could immediately see the anger rising in his eyes, she recognized the symptoms from Ed.

"He made you leave your little girl in the house jus' so you could buy him a couple of damn beers!?" he snapped gruffly.

Carol's whole body jumped at the sudden sharpness of the stranger's voice, she swallowed nervously as she nodded her head.

"Asshole" he mumbled angrily.

Carol turned her head carefully to look at the clock,

11:30pm

"It's late you should sleep, you need it" smiled Carol warmly

"Yeah" mumbled the man turning to rest his feet on the couch again,

Carol slowly put her glass on the coffee table and began making her way up the stairs calmly,

"Sleep well" she called out

The man sat up slowly, "Hey!"

Carol turned around to look at the man, "hmm?"

"Daryl by the way" he said laying himself down onto the couch,

Carol smiled, "Carol, goodnight Daryl" she called out before walking back up through the dark hallway leading to her bedroom, she slowly tip-toed through the corridors and quickly moved her head around Sophia's door.

She was asleep.

Carol smiled as she shut the door again, thinking of Daryl's reassuring words to help her daughter it was more than Ed had ever done for her in her whole life. Carol silently opened her bedroom door, she quietly slid into her large bed clutching the covers to her tightly. This was the first time Carol had gone to bed in an actual good mood knowing she was safe physically and mentally from Ed. Carol turned over in her bed and stared at her door leading down the stairs, she smiled again it had been a while since she'd felt this good or since she'd laughed properly and meant it. She had thrill inside of her, and this time it was a good thrill.

…..

She woke up the next morning to something which had surprised her, her face was pressed down in her pillow but she could smell it. The sizzling smell of bacon creeping into her bedroom, who the hell was cooking it? It couldn't be Ed, Ed's the one who usually forced her to do all the cooking. Maybe after a night of drinking he'd seen a new light and decided to act like a loving husband. But what were the chances of that?

Carol groggily pushed herself out of bed and grabbed her night gown hanging on the door, she tiredly dragged her feet along the now bright hallway and down the stairs, Daryl was no longer on the couch, she carefully moved her head to search around the living room and to her surprise, breakfast was being cook for her.

"Morning" Carol smiled sleepily her arms folded across her chest,

Daryl turned around to look at her as he balanced the frying pan over the cooker, his cigarette was balanced in the corner of his mouth "Mornin'"

"What are…" She couldn't get the words out she was too surprised, "What are you doing?" she asked calmly

Daryl moved the hot pan over to the counter, "What do you think I'm doin'? I'm cooking y'all breakfast" he said scooping a piece of bacon onto one of the plates.

Carol slightly tilted her head confused, "Why?"

Daryl turned to her as he scooped another piece of bacon onto one of the smaller pink plates, "It's the least I could do, don't Ed ever cook you breakfast?" he asked beginning to fill a glass with orange juice.

Carol shook her head, "I usually do the cooking for him" she said calmly, suddenly her heart stopped, "D…Did he come home last night?" she asked nervously.

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, must be with Merle hung over as hell" he chuckled

Carol stood silently for a second, Daryl carefully handed her, her plate.

"I'll be gone before he gets back"

Carol stared at him her mouth open ready to apologise, "Oh no I didn't mean-"

"I know" he said interrupting her as he grabbed another plate of food, "Where's your little girl?" he asked holding the plate carefully in his hands.

"She must still be in bed, she sleeps a lot more these days" Carol said yawning.

"You mind if I bring up breakfast for her? A girl's gotta eat" he said balancing the small plate and orange juice.

"Go ahead" Carol said rubbing her eyes lightly,

Before disappearing upstairs Daryl flashed her a quick smile as he slid past her, "Start without me" he mouthed dropping his cigarette into the trash.

Carol nodded tiredly and sloppily walked towards the dining table before lugging herself onto the chair and resting her head on the table, she closed her eyes lightly still tired from the night before.

What the hell was he doing here? It must still be a dream, she knew the second she opened her eyes she'd open them to Ed standing over her ordering her to start cooking. No one was gonna be cooking for her, she wasn't worth it. Suddenly she heard Daryl's heavy footsteps rush down the steps again, she wearily lifted her head up again and delicately opened her eyes to see Daryl sitting in front of her, his trousers falling down to his hips carefully. She smiled up at him calmly

"Thanks for lettin' me stay on your couch, I was really fucked up las' night" he said shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.

Carol gently slid her fork into her bacon, "You're welcome and thank you for breakfast I appreciate it" she smiled taking a bite out of her food, "Got anything planned for later?" she asked taking a sip of her drink.

"Nah, not much might go huntin' for a bit, you?" he asked gulping down his drink.

Carol sighed disappointed, "Probably cooking and cleaning again for when Ed gets back" she said sadly.

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, probably dinner too" she said tenderly.

Daryl chuckled, "Nah, I mean I could take you out to dinner"

Carol's food suddenly got lodged in her throat as she tried to speak, "What?" she said coughing.

"I could take you out for somethin' to eat" he smirked chewing on another piece of bacon.

What the hell was he doing? She wasn't anything special or at least she didn't think she was.

"I couldn't I'm married" she coughed taking a sip of her drink to calm herself down.

"Jus' for an hour"

"I have a family"

"Ed wouldn't find out" he smiled staring directly into her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous he's got friends everywhere" she said mortified

"Not if I take you far, Atlanta aint far from here" he said now sitting back in his seat.

"What about Sophia? Ed's here all the time I really couldn't…" she said protesting

"You got friends you could leave her with?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"I suppose…but what about…what about Ed?" she asked nervously, her heart was beginning to pound she knew what would happen if he found out she was out with another man.

"My asshole brother probably lost all his money, he'll want to win it back" smiled Daryl.

"I…I don't know.." she said hesitantly.

Daryl's hand suddenly reached across and touched hers softly, "Don't worry about it, I'll make sure we don't get caught"

Carol slid her slender hands away from Daryl's, "Why?" she asked staring at him sideways.

"Why what?" he asked huskily.

"Why would you want to take someone like me to dinner?"

"It's like a thanks for savin' my ass and cause you're a fine lady…" he said lowering his head to look down at his food, this had been the first time she'd seen him get slightly shy. She smiled as she could suddenly feel her cheeks go crimson, he was beginning to win her over.

"That a yes?" he asked cautiously.

"Tonight's fine" she said trying to now keep a straight face, "But only for an hour" she quickly added on, glancing up at him.

Daryl half smiled as he put his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a small crumpled white flower and delicately put it into the palm of her hand.

"What's this?" she asked staring down at its beauty.

"Cherokee Rose" he said proudly.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked gently putting it down on the table.

"I found it before those assholes beat the shit out of me, you could wear that tonight if you want" he smiled grabbing the two plates on the table.

"Do you always keep random flowers in your pocket?" she asked jokingly.

"Only the ones with stories" he said dropping the two plates into the sink carefully.

Suddenly Carol felt Daryl's wet lips kiss the top of her short silver hair, "See ya tonight" he murmured grabbing his jacket.

Before Carol could open her mouth to respond to the kiss, the door slammed shut. She sat there motionless for a few seconds listening to the sound of the tap dripping. Her cheeks were getting redder and redder she thought they'd suddenly catch fire. She had no idea how to respond she hadn't felt affection like that in years and she'd only just met him.

The door re-opened abruptly, she turned her eyes to look at the door expecting it to be Daryl again saying he'd forgotten something. She smiled but that smile quickly turned to a frown.

"What the fuck? Why the hell isn't the house clean? Were you sittin' on your ass all night?!" snapped Ed heatedly.

Carol quickly snatched up the rose and immediately shoved it into her robe, "I…I'm sorry Ed I got so caught up in the storm last night-"

Ed sharply grabbed Carol by the wrist and shoved her into the kitchen knocking her into the counter, Carol let out a small breath of pain as she leaned against the counter helping herself up.

"Get cleanin'!" he snapped.

"I'm sorry" she whispered grabbing the dishes in the sink, she was already beginning to miss Daryl and his comfort. She swallowed lightly, "Did…Did you have a good time last night?" she asked shakily.

Ed laughed loudly, "Won a bunch of Cash and drank so hard with Dixon last night" he said proudly as he flung himself into his chair, "Goin' back tonight though Merle don't let shit go"

'My asshole brother probably lost all his money'

Carol grinned down at the damp plates in her hands trying her hardest not to let out a laugh, she knew it would just piss Ed off if she looked like she was having a good time, it always did.

"Okay honey, I'll make sure everything is clean for you this time" she grinned her voice cracking from restraining her laughs.

"Good…lazy ass bitch" he mumbled laying himself down in his chair.

Carol continued to scrub the dishes roughly, hoping to get enough time to prepare for her 'dinner' with Daryl, "Ed do you mind if I go see Lori? Sophia wants to see Carl and-"

"Whatever I couldn't give two shits, I'm goin' to sleep don't you disturb me" he snapped groggily.

"Okay Ed I won't" grinned Carol

…..

"Carol how are you? You left so quickly yesterday" said Lori calmly as she carried the tea into the living room.

Carol smiled softly trying to contain her excitement but it just wasn't possible, "I need to talk to you" she said coolly.

"What's on your mind?"

Carol took a small deep breath, "I need to borrow a dress" she said moving to look at Lori properly, she felt stupid saying this, it was rare for her to be seen in a dress, Ed didn't let her.

Lori's eyes slightly widened, she didn't blame her the only clothes she'd ever seen her in were plain trousers with a plain top, nothing colourful nothing that made Carol feel good at all.

"I haven't seen you wear a dress in years" Lori said shocked

"It's a…special occasion" Carol said trying not to give herself away.

"Are you going out with Ed?" she asked suspiciously

"No it's another friend…"

Lori's head tilted slightly as she watched Carol, "Is Ed okay with that? I mean I remember what happened with Rick when you two started talking-"

"We don't need to get into that again…please I'm sure he's fine with it" Carol begged lowering her head in shame.

Lori sighed steadily, "Okay I've got a red dress upstairs you can borrow and a matching pair of shoes in the closet"

Carol immediately stood up, "Thank you" she smiled evenly, before she left to try on the dress she turned around again to look at Lori, "Lori do you mind if Sophia stays tonight? She has been asking me for a while about seeing Carl" she said hesitantly.

Lori grinned, "Sure Carol, have a good time for me okay?" she said taking a sip from her cup.

"Thank you" Carol repeated again before dashing out of the living room door.

….

Carol stared at herself, this had been the first time in a long time that she had actually felt beautiful, Carol stroked the silky scarlet dress softly, she stared down at her legs they looked suddenly a lot longer in the short dress. It strangely made her feel good. She couldn't help but smile as she watched her every movement in the dress, Ed never let her wear nice things. Carol suddenly smiled even brighter as she remembered one thing which was missing from the dress, she quickly sprinted up the steps, her heels banging on the hard floor, and grabbed her silver robe and pulled out the small rose Daryl had given her. She delicately pressed it onto her dress making her feel complete.

She slowly moved back down the steps and threw herself onto the couch, waiting.

Tick Toc

2 minutes passed

Carol sat there beginning to play with her fingers, she stared up at the clock again.

Another 2 minutes passed

Where the hell was he? He's probably not coming Carol thought to herself miserably, maybe he'd only asked because he felt he had to or it was just a plan to see how faithful Carol was and Ed would walk through that door any minute screaming at her. The possibilities jumped around in Carol's head.

The back door abruptly began to knock, Carol turned her head around sharply and raced towards it trying not to trip over in her heels, she carefully opened the door to see Daryl, he grinned at her softly.

"If I knew you were gonna dress up, I would've cleaned myself up a lil bit" he said chuckling

"Why didn't you just use the front door?" asked Carol crossing her arms over her chest.

"I told ya, I'm makin' sure you don't get caught"

Carol smiled warmly and stared up at him looking directly into his deep blue eyes, Daryl slightly coughed nervously.

"You uh…look foxy tonight…" he knew he had used the wrong damn word, "I mean-"

"It's fine Daryl" Carol giggled moving her hand to touch his chest,

Daryl narrowed his eyes down at her dress, "I told ya the flower would suit you" he smirked.

Carol smiled again but turned her eyes softly to look back at the clock, "We'll only be an hour won't we?" asked Carol nervously.

Daryl chuckled, "Don't worry I'll get Ed's lady back before midnight" he said moving his arm to lean on the wall. "You know I should probably hold onto that rose for ya" he said beginning to walk away from the house.

"Why?" she asked shutting the door.

Daryl let out a small snicker, "You'll see"

Carol's eyes widened to the sight of the motorcycle at the back of the house, Daryl climbed onto it swiftly, "Hop on" he said gruffly as he held on tightly. Was he insane?

"There is no way I'm climbing onto that thing!" declared Carol her eyes widening in fear.

"Why not?"

Carol's mouth opened wider, "Do I look like someone who rides one of those things?" she exclaimed

Daryl shrugged, Carol sighed deciding to give in, "Fine." She uttered unimpressed.

"All you have to do is hold on tightly aint that hard, I'll give you my helmet if it makes you feel better" he said removing his black helmet carefully.

"I don't know…" Carol said clutching the helmet in her hands.

"We'll be in Atlanta in no time, it won't last long" he said gruffly.

"Okay" Carol mumbled

"Give me your flower so I can keep it safe for ya" he said huskily.

Carol nodded slipping the small flower into his jacket pocket, she cautiously sat on the motorcycle placing the large helmet on her head, the engines roared as Daryl began to power up the motorcycle, Carol's arms immediately wrapped around his waist, her face was buried in his back and she was sure she could faintly hear Daryl chuckling.

"This isn't funny" she said her words muffled in his jacket.

"Jus' hold on" he said roughly before taking off down the street.

….

Carol's grip tightened around Daryl's waist as the motorcycle stopped,

"Are we there?" she whispered

"Yea we're here" he said turning the engines off.

Carol shakily lifted the helmet off of her head and passed it straight over to Daryl without hesitation, her face as pale, if there was one thing Carol could confirm after that experience it would be that's she was traumatized.

"You okay?" asked Daryl watching her shake

"I'm fine" said Carol trying to balance herself.

"Driving weren't that bad was it?" he smirked proud of himself

Carol narrowed her eyes up at him darkly, "I'd still rather take a cab home" she said trying not to vomit.

Daryl laughed quietly to himself, "Anywhere you want to eat?" he asked dryly

"I don't mind" she said smiling shyly.

"Pizza it is" he said stretching as began to walk away

Carol stared at him her mouth half open and her eyes slightly wide, was he joking?

"You dragged me all the way to Atlanta for pizza?" called out Carol

"Uh yeah" he called back a small smirk on his face.

Carol frowned as she paced to catch up to him, Daryl glanced down at her and noticed her frown he carefully put his large arm around her, "Don't get your panties in a bunch I got this all planned out" he beamed.

Daryl pushed the door to Doc's Pizza, Carol slowly walked in behind him wondering what the hell he could be planning?

A young man lifted his head up lazily from the counter, his name tag read **Glenn**

"How can I help you?" he said yawning.

"One Pepperoni to go" said Daryl tossing some cash on the counter.

Glenn turned around sharply and repeated Daryl's order, suddenly something caught his eye he narrowed his eyes behind Daryl to see Carol, he looked back at Daryl sideways

"You brought your date to a crappy pizza place? What a cheap date" he said frowning.

"Got somethin' else planned too, so watch it sunshine" he snapped huskily.

"Whatever man" he groaned moving his head back down to the counter.

…

Daryl wrapped one of his arms around Carol as he grabbed the pizza from Glenn,

"Have a good one" called out Glenn sleepily.

"Hold this for one second" said Daryl as he shoved his hand back into his pocket, in his palm was the rose he had given Carol before, his rough fingers brushed through her short hair as he slipped it in, he stared at her as if he was satisfied with his work.

"Looks a lot better up there" smiled Daryl taking the pizza box from Carol.

"So…where are we going now?" asked Carol trying to hide her crimson cheeks.

"It aint far jus' wait okay? Supposed to be my plan for you" he smirked his hand keeping a firm grip on her slender waist.

Carol glanced up at Daryl casually she wondered what was going through his head, all of this seemed suspicious, what the hell could he be planning? She slowly shook her head giving up on trying to figure out what he was doing. Suddenly her eyes widened to the sight of a large park in front of her, the stars shined above the park as if it was placed there just to make it more perfect.

"There's a lake inside ya know" mumbled Daryl.

Carol smiled brightly, "This is amazing"

"I thought you'd like it" he smirked, now moving his hand to hold on to hers, "C'mon we aint got all night" he said gruffly before pulling her with him into the park.

The two sat down on the bench, Carol stared at the perfect setting Daryl had brought her to, the lake was calm and the air was cool, her eyes gleamed as she stared up at the stars in the sky. Everything just felt amazing. Carol could feel Daryl watching her as she stared up in awe of the setting.

"Thank you" Carol smiled as she grabbed a small slice of the pizza, "It's a really beautiful night"

"Welcome" Daryl said, shoving a slice of pizza into his mouth.

"You know I've been meaning to ask, what happened inside that bar before I found you?" she asked taking a small bite.

Daryl let out a small laugh, "I was tryin' to win my dad's money back and they wouldn't give it to me so I fought them" he said casually.

"Seems like the smartest thing to do" giggled Carol,

"Heat of the moment" Daryl mumbled.

"Idiot" Carol teased moving her hand to touch his, he turned his eyes to look at her properly he smiled.

"So, how'd you end up with an asshole like Ed?" he asked now turning his whole body to look at her, Carol mimicked him staring at him.

She sighed sadly, "In high school he was my…'sweetheart'" The word sweetheart made her stomach ache, "He was charming to me and I fell for him, he proposed and then things got bad as he showed his true colours" Carol said lowering her head, her eyes began to close at the memories. She hated remembering them.

"You okay?" Daryl asked moving his hand to her shoulder.

Carol opened her eyes carefully and flashed a smile at him trying not to ruin the date, "I'm fine…why did you really ask me to dinner?" she asked curiously.

"Already told you why" he said leaning back into the bench.

"I know but you said you were thanking me…you already thanked me enough" she said calmly.

"Look you seem like a great lady and…you're kind of beautiful.." Daryl said huskily, he immediately regretted saying that, he felt like a pussy.

Carol's cheeks immediately went ruby, "I'm still a married woman you know" she purred moving her body slightly closer to Daryl's.

"I know" he smirked

"Ed would…kill me if he knew where I was" she said now bowing her head, showing off her silver head in the bright starlight.

Daryl brushed his fingers through Carol's hair softly, "I'd stomp his ass if he touched you again" he mumbled letting his fingers explore her.

"Thank you" Carol breathed looking back up at him,

Daryl delicately moved his hands back to his sides, "Welcome….maybe I could see you again.." he said huskily.

"I…I don't know we might be pushing our luck…" Carol said softly.

"Anything goes wrong I'll be there protecting you" he said gruffly.

Carol smiled softly, "Well I would want to see you again…" Carol said staring at Daryl,

Daryl half returned the smile, "Does Ed Kiss you?" he asked curiously.

Carol lowered her head again trying to avoid looking Daryl in the eyes she felt suddenly weak and powerless, "He does…" she took a small deep breath, "But I don't like it, it doesn't feel good he doesn't treat me like he wants me…" Carol sighed trying to hold back a tear.

She felt ridiculous bothering him with her issues, after this date he'd just leave and never speak to her again she was almost certain of it.

"How long since you properly kissed someone?" asked Daryl now moistening his lips slightly.

"A..A while…" she breathed

Daryl blinked at her surprised, he carefully dropped the pizza on the ground and stood up from the bench reaching one hand out to her, "c'mon lets ditch the pizza we should get back to the bike" he said gruffly.

Carol took his hand and followed him through the park, she didn't feel so great anymore, even when Ed wasn't with her he had to ruin her fun. And she let him. She sighed sadly. Daryl narrowed his eyes down at her and he began to wrap his arm around her pulling him closer to her as they walked back to the bike.

"Should I grab your helmet then?" asked Carol moodily.

"Nah jus' close ya eyes" he said huskily.

Carol shut her eyes softly, what could he be planning now? She'd already had enough and was ready to go home, she already knew none of this was going to last so why add anything else on?

Daryl delicately placed his hands on her hips, his lips now moistened pressed against hers softly, he immediately felt her eyes flash open but he kept his closed, he'd been waiting all night to kiss her. The roughness of his stubble tickled Carol softly, and his hands began to wrap around her back slowly, Carol silently pulled away from him moving her hands to his shoulders. She stared at him her sapphire eyes gleaming.

"We…We should get back" said Daryl beginning to stutter, "I'll-"

Before Daryl could continue speaking, Carol's lips were already pressing roughly against his her arms pulled him closer to her, she could feel his belt brush against her hips as she pulled him closer but she didn't care she needed this badly. Her stomach was soon full of butterflies and she immediately let go inhaling deeply.

Daryl pinched his lips staring down at the small woman, "Must've been a long while" he joked,

"Maybe you could stay a little bit longer when we get back" Carol breathed trying to get her breath back.

"Sounds like a plan" breathed Daryl, he quickly hopped on the motorcycle along with Carol, "You want my helmet?" he asked as the engines began to roar.

"I think I'm good this time" she smiled wrapping her arms around Daryl's waist.

"Then lets go" chuckled Daryl before speeding away.

….

Carol breathed heavily as Daryl's bare chest rest on top of her, he could feel his warm breath against her as they kissed. Her soft silky bra smoothened underneath his large body,

"You sure wanna do this?" hummed Daryl kissing the corner of her mouth softly, his hand worked its way down her warm thigh.

"Mhmm" Carol murmured guiding his hand towards her ass.

She let out a small moan as Daryl began to kiss her neck passionately he breathed in taking in her sweet scent and his hands began working their way through her silver hair.

God she needed this.

" Daryl" she moaned softly.

Just as Daryl was about to undo his belt buckle, the sound of keys jangled in the door, the noise echoing through the empty house.

"I think Ed's home" Whispered Carol clinging onto Daryl tightly, her legs were already wrapped around his waist,

Daryl quickly helped Carol gather her clothes, he held her body close to his.

"Where the hell do I go?" he hissed

"Into the bathroom" she hissed back.

Before Carol could make another sound, Daryl raced into the bathroom with Carol still clutching onto his body, he shut the door lightly and the two of them sat in the bath silently. Carol closed her eyes worryingly, Ed was going to find them and kill them. Daryl's arms wrapped around Carol softly trying to reassure her, he could see the tension in her eyes.

Suddenly the door slammed shut again, both of them let out a small sigh of relief.

"He must've come back for money to bet with" Carol breathed.

"Must've lost to Merle" Daryl murmured not loosening his arms around Carol,

Carol and Daryl exchanged looks and burst out laughing, he pushed her chest backwards bringing her closer to him, his lips softly kissed her head.

"I told ya I'd make sure we didn't get caught" he smiled.

Carol sighed softly kissing his hand, "This is what I meant…" she breathed closing her eyes.

"When can I see ya again?" he asked hugging her closer

"I…I don't know it's risky" she whispered calmly.

Daryl carefully removed his arms from around Carol and moved his hand to turn her face to look at him, he softly pressed his lips against hers as he slipped his shirt back on.

"I'll see you again soon" he said roughly.

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah really soon" he smirked moving one leg out of the bathroom window,

Just before he crept out of the window, Carol held onto his arm her nails slightly digging into his skin, but it didn't seem to bother him.

"Daryl…Can you promise me things will be okay if I keep seeing you?" she whispered.

Daryl's other hand rested on top of her hand, he squeezed it gently, "Aint nothin' gonna go wrong, I'll protect you" he said roughly.

"Promise?"

"Promise" he replied kissing her hand, before slipping out of the window.

Carol slid herself down the bath keeping her knees beneath her arms, she closed her eyes tightly.

She prayed he was right.


	2. Chapter 2

(Warning this contains mature scenes)

Carol stared up at the ceiling and then at the window in the bathroom as she lay on top her bed quietly, she breathed in nervously her hands beginning to rest over her aching stomach full of butterflies. _What if he's been caught this time? _Carol thought to herself worriedly the thought terrified her. She shook her head rapidly and shut her eyes tightly trying to think of something else, he was coming and everything was going to be okay.

It had been 3 weeks and they had a system.

Every day when Ed went out to work or to play poker Daryl would slip himself into the house either through the bathroom window or the backdoor, No matter how many times they had gone through this system she still worried, she always imagined Ed bursting through the door while Daryl was over and him killing both of them. Carol shook her head again trying to forget this; everything was going to be okay. When Daryl came to spend time with her he would often spend large amounts of time just watching Carol and smiling, frequently repeating how lucky he is to have her or how much he wanted her. Carol was always taken by surprised when he said things like this; no one had ever treated her like this, like she mattered.

It made her feel good.

Daryl would cook for her constantly never letting her touch anything in the kitchen,

_"Keep out of the kitchen, it's my Job to do the damn cookin'" _he'd say guiding her out of the kitchen not before kissing her softly.

And she'd sit on the couch actually relaxing and watching him cook, something she'd never experienced. Other days when they know they may only have few hours, they would just fool around together sometimes all night and they would talk. Daryl would listen to her every word carefully and just smile nearly every time she spoke. Carol grinned at the memories as she lay on the bed her eyes still watching the window in the hallway.

Her stomach began to squeeze again, everything was going so perfectly.

Too Perfectly.

Over the last 3 weeks she came to the realisation that this wasn't going to last forever, because it can't. Anything that made her happy always ended up disappearing eventually. The thoughts moved around her head again, Ed finding out about them. Her hands tightened around her stomach as the pains in her stomach got worse. The worries continued to build up inside of her, all of them piling on top of each other. She couldn't take it anymore; she needed to run to the bathroom before they got worse.

Carol sharply got up from her bed and sprinted towards the bathroom through the dark hallways, as soon as she entered the bathroom she slid her body down to the cold ground and rested her head on the bath. She was beginning to feel awful. She shut her eyes again softly, she wish she could just put her hand out to Daryl and tell him to take her and Sophia away forever, she wanted him to take her whole life.

The Window suddenly groaned as it slid open carefully,

"Carol?" hissed a voice.

Carol looked up wearily to see Daryl climbing in through the window carefully, she smiled warmly.

"Hi" she said moving herself to lie against the sink.

"You okay?" he asked sitting on the edge of the bath.

Carol sighed still holding onto her stomach, "Nerves got to me" she said in a hushed tone.

"Again?" asked Daryl slowly leaning into her,

Carol nodded her head beginning to bow down, she shut her eyes gently.

Daryl softly moved his hands to rub her back delicately; Carol opened her eyes wearily to look at him,

"I thought you weren't coming" she sighed sickly

Daryl narrowed his navy eyes down at her, "Why's that?" he asked moving his hands to stroke her silver hair.

Carol swallowed, "I thought maybe you got caught by Ed or just didn't want to come anymore…" Carol said now slightly embarrassed.

Daryl chuckled lightly, "I'd never leave without sayin' anything and if Ed found me I'd stomp his stupid ass before he could scratch me" Daryl smirked proudly

Carol grinned warmly but her hands continued to clutch her stomach, this wasn't getting any better.

Daryl smirked as he watched her, "What, no kiss today?" he asked wrapping his arm around her.

Carol smiled as she playfully hit his arm away, "I look disgusting" she whined

Suddenly Carol's weight shifted closer to Daryl's as he pulled her into a large bearlike hug, "You always look fantastic to me" he grinned kissing the top of her head softly.

Carol beamed as he steadily let her slide back into her original seat, "What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Midnight"

"Why are you so late tonight?" she asked yawning

"Because I like to be mysterious" he said coolly.

Carol glanced up at him and laughed sweetly, he grinned back down at her

"Nah, I had to wait 'til they were all shit faced drunk" said Daryl gruffly as he put one hand out to Carol to help her up, "When I slipped out the back Ed and Merle were already drunk as hell on the floor" he said huskily.

Carol laughed softly and soon pulled him into a light kiss, "Seems like you might be able to stay the night, we should go to my room" she hummed kissing the corner of his mouth.

Daryl kissed her back gently, "Sounds like a plan"

The two of them walked backwards from the bathroom to the bedroom never once breaking their kiss, Daryl's hands rested on Carol's hips as they fell to the warm bed gracefully his hands brushed through her soft hair.

"I missed you so much" he breathed, his lips brushing against her smooth shoulder.

Carol breathed lightly, "I missed you too" she murmured as she let Daryl's lips explore her.

Carol hands moved to Daryl's chest as she delicately unzipped his leather jacket, shoving it off of him roughly, her kisses beginning to get harsher.

Daryl's lips wondered slowly towards her neck again, his small kisses made Carol moan softly, she abruptly removed her T-shirt and pulled Daryl's warm body even closer to hers pulling off his shirt and throwing it to the ground.

"Daryl" she breathed before sitting up, she lightly moved behind his body and began to kiss the nape of his neck tenderly, her lips slipped down Daryl's back. Daryl shivered as he began to tense up, Carol paused sitting up slowly.

"I can stop if you want I don't have to…" she said softly as she shut her eyes, she had found Daryl's scars the last time they had fooled around.

"Nah, I'm fine…" he breathed

Carol nodded calmly and continued to move her lips down his beck delicately, she slowly pushed his body onto the bed and climbed it her lips resting against his, her hands wrapping around the nape of his neck as she did so, she was ready to let everything go. Daryl softly pushed Carol down on the bed and leaned over her his lips locking on her neck, her silky bra brushing against him.

"Imma' make this good for you" he purred pulling down her lace underwear.

She closed her eyes as she felt him begin to kiss her soft breast lightly, she moved her head back elegantly as she felt him part her legs, and slide into her. Her entire body tightened against him as her hips met his, causing him to go deeper inside her. Her legs wrapped against his waist lightly, Carol took in his scent as he panted heavily against her skin.

"God….Daryl" she moaned her nails now carefully digging into his back.

"It's okay…I got ya" he purred locking his hands with hers.

Carol nodded her fingers on her right hand slipping through Daryl's soft hair, She felt a rush of heat travel through her as Daryl rocked against her gently his hips beginning to move faster and faster against hers, his were cheeks flushed and his was body hot.

His fingers tightened against hers softly as he began to groan. Carol's head flung backwards as her mouth opened in a gasp, her entire body began to shake tenderly as her grip on Daryl grew tighter. She was coming; Daryl stroked her softly as he kissed her neck hushing her quietly as he thrust into her. He wanted to make it good for her.

"Faster" she moaned quietly still gripping onto him.

Daryl obeyed and a few moments later he was coming pressing his face into Carol's neck with a grunt his hips stilled. Carol shut her eyes slowly as she hugged Daryl's warm body against her, she could feel his hot breath still panting slightly against her as she stroked his hair softly.

Daryl slowly rolled away from her, pulling the large white sheet over the two of them. He moved his large arm to wrap around her pulling Carol closer to him.

"I love you" he whispered kissing her hair softly.

Carol laughed gently against his skin, "I'm nothing special" she whispered kissing his hand.

Daryl's warm hand moved to stroke her face steadily, "You're special to me" he murmured. Daryl could feel Carol's smile against his chest, he pulled her in closer to him.

"I never want to leave you" she whispered burying her face into his chest.

Daryl chuckled quietly, "I'm not goin' anywhere" he said stroking her hair softly.

Carol stayed silent, she wished could believe him.

Daryl narrowed his eyes down at her noticing her silence, "What's the matter?"

Carol sighed, "I can't stop worrying about you not coming back because someone's found out about us…" she whispered.

"I'm not gonna leave ya alone with that bastard, I'll be here when you need me"

Carol nodded silently and continued to bury her head into Daryl's warm chest, Daryl played with her silver hair noiselessly.

"We could get far away from this dump"

Carol slowly glanced up at him, "Where would we go?" she asked quietly

"Maybe Atlanta or further, Jus' me, you and your little girl"

Carol laughed evenly, "It's just a dream"

Daryl sat up slowly, "I mean it though some day the three of us could get a truck and leave, we could get a house or somethin' like that" he said huskily.

Carol smiled warmly as she cuddled closer to him, her arms wrapping around his waist

"I'd like that" She carefully sat up and kissed Daryl softly on the lips, "Goodnight"

Daryl smiled through Carol's kiss, his lips returned the kiss, "Night" he said sliding down slowly onto the bed, Carol still wrapped in his arms.

….

Carol woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee, burning in her nose. Her eyes flickered open to see Daryl sitting on the edge of her bed fully dressed; he held two large cups of coffee in his hands.

"Morning" she smiled sleepily.

"Mornin'" he grinned brightly.

Carol sat up slowly, "What time is it?" she yawned

"About 9:30" he said handing her the cup.

"When'd you get up?" she asked taking a sip

Daryl stretched himself on the bed, "About 7am I know the drill but Ed didn't come back so I thought I could stay a lil' longer" he smiled drinking from the cup.

Carol smiled fuzzily, "Won't your dad and Merle notice you were out all night?" she yawned again.

"Probably too drunk to care" he took a sip from his cup, "And anyway if they ask where I was I can tell em' I was with a fine lady" he smirked eyeing her.

Carol leaned forward kissing him sleepily, "When do you have to leave?"

Daryl returned the kiss, "When I hear the door openin' I'll jump out of the window" he chuckled grinning against her lips.

Carol laughed holding the sheets to her bare body, "I have to pick up Sophia from Lori's in about an hour"

"You want me to come?" he asked moving his hand to touch hers.

Carol pushed him playfully, "Behave" she smiled, "Lori and Rick don't know about us and Sophia would probably be as traumatized as I was the first time I road your bike"

"Our first date" he purred kissing her cheek.

"The date that won me over" she purred back.

Daryl smiled shyly as he watched her,

"I could come with ya and take one of the trucks from the garage" he said huskily.

Carol bowed her head slowly, she wished Daryl could come with her but she knew all of the consequences if he did, "If people saw us together they'd talk" she said sadly

Daryl's lips pressed against hers lightly, "Let em' I'll be there protecting ya" he smirked.

Carol was still hesitant, Daryl's reassuring words didn't help her, "It's a giant risk…"

Daryl shrugged turning his back away from her staring at the exit, Carol wrapped her arms around him carefully from behind, "Do you have work today?" she asked yawning.

"Yeah but Merle won't care if I'm there or not" he said shrugging.

"You sure? I don't want you getting screamed at because of me" she said worryingly

Daryl kissed her hand softly as it rested on his shoulder, "Don't worry I aint afraid of Merle"

Carol laughed softly but shook her head, "I think you should go, I can't risk it for either of us" she said now resting her head on his shoulder.

"Alright, am I gon' see ya tonight?" he asked turning around to look at her.

Carol continued to rest her head on his shoulder, "Ed's not at work tonight" she said miserably.

"Maybe I could get Merle to play another game" smiled Daryl pulling her closer to him.

"That'd be nice" she smiled kissing him one last time.

Daryl carefully lay Carol back onto the bed and kissed her softly before leaving out of the window, "See ya later!" he called out gruffly.

And Carol was suddenly alone again, she sighed emptily. She always forgot how lonely she felt after Daryl left each night the reality always hit her hard. She curled up into a ball in her bed and stared at the window again hoping maybe he'd come back and they could spend some time together, maybe Ed wouldn't come back for a few hours or maybe even a few days. Carol sighed again, she knew that would never happen. She was trapped forced to live this lonely life.

She began collecting her clothes carefully off of the ground, all she needed was a miracle.

One Miracle and she could leave with Daryl and live his dream.

_Their dream._

…..

Carol's legs moved quickly as she power walked down the road, trying to get to Sophia before Ed got home. She was desperate to keep everything on track, to make everything seem normal, but it wasn't, everything still scared her even though she had Daryl and his reassuring words she was so afraid of getting caught one day she didn't want to lose Daryl she knew what Ed would do to him if he found out. All the thoughts rushed around in her head.

Suddenly Carol felt herself knock into something hard, it pushed her backwards powerfully. She looked up to see the smirking face of Merle Dixon. Her stomach squeezed.

"You should look where ya goin'" he smirked this time not helping her up.

"Sorry" Carol mumbled helping herself up carefully, "Where's Ed?"

Merle's eyes looked Carol up and down slowly, he chuckled to himself shaking his head, "My place, I'm gettin' drinks"

Carol nodded trying not to look Merle directly into his eyes; his eyes were cold like Ed's.

"You know you're really glowin'" he smiled licking his lips slightly.

Carol narrowed her eyebrows up slowly, "Thank you…" she said hesitantly.

What the hell was he doing?

"Ed uh must be treatin' you well" he said staring at her.

Carol's stomach squeezed in that moment, her heart began to race and she felt like she was about to pass out.

_He knew._

Carol nodded slowly, this time desperately forcing herself not look into his eyes, she was sure if she looked at him she would immediately throw up from nerves. Merle glared down at her, watching every small nervous step she took, every sniff and every blink. His head turned sideways as he stared.

"See ya then" he said finally breaking the frightening silence.

Carol nodded again, her voice was suddenly lost.

As soon as Merle turned his back to walk in the opposite direction, Carol felt herself sprinting down the street, her breath was heavy and her stomach felt like it was going to burst through her. Suddenly she stopped, resting herself on the bench she took a few deep breaths. She was being ridiculous, Merle couldn't know. They'd been so careful it's not possible for him to have found out she was being stupid.

Carol carefully sat herself down on the bench holding her head in her hands, everything was going to be fine. Daryl promised her that. She shook her head and opened her eyes softly, she needed to relax everything was getting to her recently she was sure Merle knew nothing.

"Come on Carol" she whispered to herself quietly as she stood up from the bench. She was strong she could handle this.

That conversation meant nothing.

_She prayed it meant nothing._

…..

Lori smiled brightly as she flung the door open sharply, "Carol!" she began, but suddenly her facial expression changed completely.

"Are you okay? You look awful" she said immediately concerned.

Carol nodded her head wearily, she felt awful "I'm fine Lori"

Lori's arm gripped Carol's snappishly, "Come inside I'll make you something to drink" she said camly.

Carol shook her head, "I really have to go Lori I'm on a…tight schedule" she said sickly, she needed to get back home quickly before Ed if she wanted to keep him happy.

Lori frowned at her unimpressed, "I'm not letting you leave until I'm certain you're okay" she said seriously. Carol's eyes met Lori's, she sighed finally nodding as she let her pull her into the house.

Carol's eyes took in all of Lori's house, she sighed with envy she wished this was the kind of life she could live with Daryl. Just a peaceful life with him and Sophia, a normal living room a normal bedroom a normal kitchen she wished she could have it all. No more sneaking around, no more secrets, no more fear.

All she wanted was a ordinary life with him full of happiness. But she knew deep down that wasn't ever going to be her life. She was doomed to stay down below with Ed, the weak got left behind while the strong lived their lives. She sighed deeply her stomach ache returning.

"Mom?" squeaked a voice behind her.

Carol turned around to see Sophia she smiled at her sweetly, "Hey sweetie"

Lori's hand linked with Carol's smoothly, "I just need to talk to your mom for a few minutes sweetheart"

Sophia nodded slowly, "Okay" she smiled quietly.

Carol smiled as she watched Carl's small hand link with hers, "Come on Sophia lets go in the backyard" She was glad at least Sophia was happy.

Lori's guiding hand quickly directed Carol into the living room, Carol's stomach began to squeeze even harder she felt like she was going to burst. Lori squeezed her hand tightly and smiled reassuringly as she caught sight of Carol's sickly expression. Carol forced a small fake smile as she flung herself onto the soft couch, she sighed deeply covering her face with her sweaty hands.

"So tell me what's wrong" Lori said as she sat down beside her.

Carol shook her head stubbornly, she wasn't in the mood for more questions she was done with them.

"I'm just feeling a little bit sick that's all" Carol uttered moodily.

Lori squinted her eyes slowly, her head tilting in sync with them, "Are you sure that's it? Did Ed do something?" she asked concerned

"No" Carol said quickly as she sat up, "I really have to leave Lori, I'm sorry" she declared jumping to her feet.

Carol quickly walked out of the room swinging the living room door sharply, "Sophia, time to go" she called out walking towards the front door.

"Carol wait!" verbalized Lori

Carol didn't listen she needed to get home quickly just to maybe make things right or to at least keep Ed happy before he made her truly pay.

"I'm sorry" Carol uttered wrapping her arm around Sophia's shoulder quickly.

Lori stood in the doorway watching Carol walk away, her face full of sadness she desperately wanted to help her friend,

"Carol…" she breathed. "If something goes wrong talk to me please I just want to help you…you shouldn't have to hide" she said now leaning against the doorframe, Carl resting beneath her arm.

Carol nodded gently, "Okay" she mouthed.

The sound of thunder could suddenly be heard above them, In a flash it suddenly began to pour down with rain. Carol sighed lightly and turned away from Lori feeling ashamed with herself. She was too weak.

"Come on baby" Carol whispered covering Sophia with her arm.

Lori shook her head disapprovingly before taking one last look at Carol walking silently in the rain.

"Please leave him" she whispered closing the door noiselessly.

….

Carol's heart nearly stopped when she opened the door to see Ed and Merle sitting on the couch together, as soon as the door swung open both of their eyes narrowed towards her. She knew this was it, she was dead.

_Oh God_ Carol thought to herself terrified.

She stood in the doorway with Sophia just staring at the two of them not knowing what to do. The heavy rain splashed on the floor noisily.

"Where the hell were you!?" roared Ed making Carol jump.

Carol slowly closed the front door, "I was picking up Sophia…" she carefully put her hand to her head, "I must've lost track of time" she said shakily.

"Should get ya ass home quicker…dumb bitch" he mumbled

Carol still stood in the living room not knowing what to do.

Had Merle told him?

Ed narrowed his cold eyes back to look at Carol, "What you doin' jus' standin' there? Huh? Get in the damn kitchen and make us somethin' we're starvin'" he snapped loudly.

Carol nodded quickly and obeyed racing to the kitchen, her hand gently brushed against Sophia.

"Go upstairs" she mouthed.

Sophia nodded obediently and she quickly sprinted up the stairs leaving Carol alone with the two monsters of men.

Carol nervously grabbed the bread from the cupboard and began slicing it into two sets of thin pieces, she swallowed.

"H…How was poker?" she asked shakily.

Ed's cruel chuckle boomed through the house, "I beat Dixon's ass!" he smirked kicking Merle's leg.

Merle smirked punching his leg, "I'll get that money back"

Carol let out a weak fake laugh as she grabbed the two beers and balanced them on the tray,

"Here you go boys" she said sickly.

She hated treating them with their so called 'respect', all she wanted to do was dump the food on the two of them and walk out the door with Sophia happily. But that was never going to happen, she was trapped.

Carol walked back into the kitchen slowly, suddenly she heard a thump behind her.

"Hey! Get back here" barked Ed.

Carol shivered nervously and turned to walk back to Ed. Suddenly she felt his large dirty hands pull her down onto his lap, his crude lips pressed down on her forcefully as he grabbed her ass tightly. She winced shutting her eyes tightly.

_Oh God Daryl I wish you were here_ Carol thought to herself repulsed.

"Heh, Funny" Merle murmured watching her sit on his lap.

Carol began to pull away from Ed slowly but suddenly she lost control of her leg, her foot sharply kicked the beer and sandwiches onto the ground.

_Crash_

The bottles broke dampening the wooden surface with beer.

Ed shoved Carol off of his lap immediately, the force of Ed's shove caused Carol to fall to the ground sharply. She cried out in pain as a small piece of glass cut across her hand, she gripped it tightly trying her hardest not to cry out again, she knew it would just make Ed angrier.

"You deserve it you dumb bitch! Everything you touch breaks!" he screamed furiously.

"I'm sorry Ed" she sobbed her hand was beginning to burn her.

"Clean this shit up" he snapped kicking her.

Carol nodded wearily, "I'll get a towel from upstairs" she whispered weakly picking herself up from the ground.

"You're useless you know that?! Useless!" he yelled after her.

The words echoed through the house and into her head.

_Useless_

The tears fell and then they couldn't stop falling.

No matter how many times Carol wiped them away or got angry with herself for crying.

They just kept falling and wouldn't stop.

She desperately grabbed the towels from the shelf at first not giving a damn about her cut, but it hurt too badly. She quickly opened the first aid kit sitting next to the sink and wrapped it around her bleeding hand.

Just as she was about to exit the bathroom, Merle appeared in front of her his lips were curved into a cruel smile.

"You aint foolin' me" he smirked

Carol's heart began to pound, "What do you mean?" she asked nervously, the pain in her stomach was beginning to make her wince slightly.

Merle chuckled harshly, "I know you've been fucking my brother" he said roughly.

Carol eyed the exit, she needed to leave now. "I don't know what you're talking about" she said trying to push past him.

The force of Merle's arm immediately made Carol jump as he slammed it against the door frame, blocking Carol's exit. Her legs began to shake and her heart thudded harder, it was over for her.

She shut her eyes slowly, "H…how did you find out?" she asked shakily.

Merle smiled and leaned into her leisurely, "Daryl tellin' me to play poker all the time? Him goin' out all night? Daryl didn't used to do shit like that so he had to be seein' someone."

He paused eyeing her, "But I didn't know who…until I saw you together" he said his smile fading.

Carol felt like she was going to be sick, how had he seen them? She thought they'd been careful the past 3 weeks. They made sure they were always in private areas. Or at least Carol made sure.

"W…where did you see us?" she asked unevenly.

"It doesn't matter" he said now crossing his arms against his chest.

Carol was silent, she was too afraid to speak now.

Merle stepped towards her slowly, "You know what does matter though?" he said in a hushed tone, "Keepin' my baby brother safe I couldn't give two shits about what happens to you but I care about what happens to him" he said leaning over her now. "I know your man and if he finds out about Derlena messin' with you, he'll kill him nice and slow"

His words boomed in her head, she kept it bowed trying not to look him in the eyes, she couldn't now it felt physically impossible.

"End it, if you care about him still breathing" he smirked beginning to step away from her, "And if you tell Daryl about our talk and decide to not listen to old Merle, maybe I'll just have to tell him myself" he said now leaning against the door.

Carol's head continued to stay bowed, another tear falling from her eye.

Deep down she knew it.

Deep down she knew he was right.

"What the hell is takin' so damn long!?" boomed Ed's voice angrily.

Merle smiled moving his long arm to touch her shoulder, "You better go back to _your_man"

Carol's feet slowly moved across the bathroom floor, she clutched the towel to her chest tightly as the tears began to fall down again this time it felt like it was never going to stop. Her stomach squeezed so tightly she felt like it was going to explode inside of her. She felt weak again.

Carol walked down the stairs unhurriedly, she didn't care anymore.

"You're takin' too long to walk" he snapped watching her drag her feet.

Carol didn't listen, she wanted to block all his words out along with Merle's.

Suddenly she felt the power of Ed's hands force her onto the hard ground, "Work!" he growled.

Carol nodded sluggishly and began to move the towel across the floor gradually.

Everything inside of her felt weak.

Her stomach squeezed harder.

"Work faster bitch" he snapped watching her hands moving slowly across the ground.

Carol continued to wipe the floor slowly, everything felt like hell. She felt like everything around her was beginning to turn to static and her head hurt, so badly.

Suddenly Ed's fist wrapped around her wrist, he pulled her up sharply. And before Carol could even blink she felt Ed's hand slap her hard across the face, she fell to the ground with a thud.

"Stupid bitch" he spat

She sat on the ground holding her burning cheek steadily she swallowed multiple times trying not to cry. She couldn't cry in front of him.

"You need to respect me by listenin' to me!" he screamed, "Do you understand!?" he snapped

Carol nodded slowly still holding her hand to her cheek, she couldn't cry in front of him.

Not here.

Not now.

"Merle get your ass down here! We're goin' out!" he called up snarling

Merle quickly ran down the stairs, his eyes narrowed down to Carol's unsympathetically.

"This shit better be cleared up by the time I get home you hear me?" he barked

Carol swallowed again trying to keep all the disgusting feelings inside of her, "It will" she hissed shakily.

The door slammed shut making the pictures on the wall shake. She carefully scooped the broken glass and sandwiches into the towel and paced towards the kitchen, she slowly dropped it into the bin and stared at the now clean spot. She sighed and began walking back into the living room, her heart thudded again as he caught sight of herself in the mirror.

She stared painfully at her scarlet cheek; it was already beginning to swell.

The tears began streaming from her face gently.

"I can't do this anymore" she cried moving her hands to her stomach.

Her legs suddenly felt weak and she sensed herself beginning to fall to the ground, her body slid down the wall and she buried her head into her wet hands. All she wanted to do was scream but she couldn't. Nobody would hear her anyway.

The memories all suddenly began flooding back each mental picture making her heart ache. She still had the scar on her back as consequence from Ed's 'punishment'.

_"What the hell do you think you're doin' talkin' to my woman!" roared Ed marching up to Rick._

_"We're just having a small discussion Ed" he said politely even though Carol knew how he felt about Ed._

_"What needs to be discussed huh? What you been tellin' him?" _

Carol remembered sinking in behind Rick using him as her shield, and then suddenly Ed pounced on Rick knocking him to the ground. She remembered screaming at Ed to leave him alone after each strong hit, and Lori screaming with her. Until Rick's partner Shane showed up and saved Rick before he had been killed. Even though Rick was bloody and broken he still had enough power to give Ed a 'message' with Shane. Which Carol paid for later.

_"You're mine you hear me? Mine!" _screamed Ed with each hit.

Carol's nails began to dig into her head as all the memories rushed back to her,

"I can't hurt Daryl" she whispered wearily.

Carol's hand stretched over to the desk above her and she grabbed the phone down, weakly dialling Daryl's work number. He had given it to her in case something had gone wrong.

_Everything had gone wrong._

She breathed slowly as she pressed the cold phone to her ears listening to it ringing. She didn't know if she could do it.

But she needed to.

To save him.

She cared too much about him to let him get hurt the same way Rick had been hurt. She wanted him to keep breathing.

"Hello?"

Daryl's gruff voice immediately made her heart ache again, she couldn't make her voice work it suddenly felt trapped. She closed her eyes slowly as there was a long pause.

"I…It's me" she breathed breaking the silence.

"What's wrong?"

She could hear his hands playing with the phone.

She shut her eyes shut firmly, "I can't see you anymore" her hand gripped the phone tightly.

"Why?"

She could hear the sudden hurt in his voice, she could feel how vulnerable he was suddenly feeling.

She had to take a few small breaths as her heart pounded, "I can't let you get hurt I care about you too much" she cried her voice beginning to tremble.

"Ed won't have anythin' on me"

Carol covered her face her breaths quickening even more, he was making this much harder for her to do. Her heart and stomach ached.

"Someone knows" she said shaking her head, it was beginning to feel hot like the rest of her body.

Daryl's silence scared her.

"Who?"

Her hand shook, "I can't tell you…" she closed her eyes tightly she couldn't take any more of this pain, "I…I have to go" she swallowed taking a deep breath.

"Wait-"

"It's not a good idea for you to come over or call I'm sorry" she breathed wiping the tears from her scarlet face.

"Carol…"

"Goodbye Daryl" she whispered softly.

She slowly put the phone down, closing her eyes tightly.

She wished she could have said something else, like how she felt about him truly or at least tried to hurt him less. But she didn't.

_She broke everything she touched._

Carol carefully picked herself up from the ground and paced towards the kitchen trying to avoid looking at herself again. She knew she was a mess.

She quickly searched through the fridge and grabbed an icepack, holding it to her crimson cheek. Carol walked towards the couch and stared at it for a few seconds remembering the first night she met Daryl, the first night she had felt good in a long time.

She broke down in tears and fell onto it, she buried her head in the cushions on the couch her shoulders shaking. All she wanted was to scream now and break every object in her path but she couldn't. She just couldn't.

Breath Carol Breath She thought to herself sobbing.

She couldn't control her body anymore her breathing was now out of control and so were her tears. Nothing worked.

She cried for Daryl and then cried for herself.

Remembering how alone she was again.

….

Carol's head sharply lifted up at the sound of the door slamming open, Ed stumbled in drunkenly he eyed her coldly. She touched her wet cheeks realising she had fallen asleep crying.

"You cleaned up?" he asked his voice like gravel.

Carol sat up wearily, "Yes" she yawned.

Ed was silent for a few moments staring at her scarlet cheek and wet eyes, he snickered cruelly.

"You deserved it"

Carol nodded loosely, "I know Ed I deserved it all and I'm sorry" she whispered.

Inside her mind she was screaming all she wanted to do was kill Ed along with Merle.

She bowed her head lightly.

When the abuse first began in their new marriage, Carol had so many plans of killing him. One night she came close. She gave him everything he wanted that night and as soon as he fell asleep she grabbed a knife and was prepared to murder him. But she couldn't do it.

She lifted her head up again to look at him, he was still staring at her his eyes squinting.

"You wanna make it up to me? Go clean up some damn clothes like a good wife" mumbled Ed drunkenly.

Carol nodded slowly and rushed up the dark stairs, she didn't want to get on Ed's bad side again especially while he was drunk.

She gathered the clothes into a small bag carefully as she sniffed. She suddenly heard the floor creek behind her she turned around to see Sophia standing in the door frame of her bedroom, she was watching Carol trembling.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" asked Carol holding the clothes carefully

Sophia hugged the doorframe nervously, "I heard you crying"

Carol frowned; she kneeled in front of her carefully and hugged her tightly

"I'm fine now don't worry" she said her voice muffled.

She slowly released herself from Sophia, "I'm just going down to the Laundromat, I'll be back as soon as I can" she said kissing Sophia on her forehead, "Go to sleep" she whispered sweetly.

Sophia nodded, "Goodnight mommy" she smiled closing the door.

…..

Carol pushed open the door sighed with relief as she entered the empty Laundromat she needed time alone for a while. She quickly walked over the washing machines sitting in the corners of the room and began stuffing her clothes into them; she didn't have much time Ed always wanted her home quickly to make sure she wasn't fooling around with anyone.

She laughed quietly to herself, that small rule broke ages ago.

Suddenly Carol could feel hot breath on the back of her a neck and then a small wet kiss. She turned around sharply to see Daryl standing behind her, one of his hands behind his back.

"Hey" he smiled softly.

Carol closed her eyes as she lowered her head, "How did you find me?" she hissed

She could feel her stomach ache beginning to return.

"I heard Merle talkin' to Ed on the phone, said you was here" he said gruffly.

She swallowed delicately, "I thought I said to stay away" she said coldly.

She hated treating Daryl like this but she needed to, to keep him safe.

Daryl's hand moved to hold hers carefully, "I can't stay away from ya and didn't you say you never wanted to leave me?" he smirked feeling proud of himself.

She broke.

Tears began flooding from her eyes and she began to shake, she buried her head into Daryl's strong chest sobbing harder than she had the entire day. She felt his arms wrap around her his hand stroking her back softly. He hushed her quietly.

"What happened, Carol?" he asked quietly as he rubbed her back.

Carol looked up at him slowly and suddenly she felt Daryl's arms get tighter around her, his eyes opened wider and she could see his cheeks getting red.

He touched her fading red cheek softly, "I'm gonna kill him" he growled beginning to pull away from her.

Carol pulled him back into her quickly, "Don't. Just stay with me" she murmured holding him against her tightly.

"Okay" he said huskily, resting his head on her head.

She shut her eyes calmly, why did she think she could give him up? She needed him.

"Who knows about us?" he muttered

"Your brother" she sighed

"How?" he asked his tone slowly rising.

"I…I don't know he told me to stay away if I wanted you to keep breathing and…" she breathed deeply, "If we both ignored his warnings and met each other he'd tell Ed himself"

"What?" snapped Daryl roughly.

"Daryl…"

Carol's head pounded, her stomach burned and her legs began to shake. Everything around her fell apart until she fell into darkness.

...

Carol felt Daryl's cold hands stroke her face slowly, she opened her eyes carefully to see the blinds drawn and the closed sign on the door. She attempted to sit up but Daryl held her closer.

"Stay down for now" he said dryly.

Carol glanced up at him sleepily, he grinned as he held her in his strong arms.

"Thought I lost ya for a minute"

"What happened?" she asked rubbing her head carefully.

"Passed out, must been stressin' yourself too much" he said gruffly.

Carol buried her head into Daryl's chest, she was so grateful to have him. He patted her back gently.

"Everythin' will be okay I aint goin' nowhere"

"You can't be sure with Merle and everything" she sighed slipping her hand into his.

"Guess you're just gonna have to trust me then" he muttered stroking her hair.

Carol lowered her head slowly; she wished she could trust him.

Daryl slipped his finger beneath her chin, moving her face to look at him, "Hey, I promise ya" he smirked staring into her eyes.

Carol gave him a small shy smile, he slowly moved his hand behind his back and pulled out a small group of Cherokee roses wrapped in a bundle of crimson paper, "I was gonna give this to ya but you decided to pass out on me" he smirked putting it in -between her arm

"Thank you" she whispered cuddling up to him.

"Don't get comfortable I'm takin' you somewhere first" he smiled beginning to stand up.

Carol sat up staring at him, "What about my laundry?"

"Takes about an hour or two don't it? We should be good on time" he smiled grabbing a pair of keys from the counter, "I paid the guy who owns this place for some privacy so he gave me the keys so we can get back in"

Carol nodded slowly still doubting him but she didn't want to ruin the mood for him, he seemed happy again.

"Ready to go?" he asked holding out his arm to her.

Carol nodded smiling sweetly at him, she clutched onto his arm gently as he turned out the lights.

"We'll be back in no time" he smiled starting up the engines.

Carol climbed on the back wrapping her arms around his waist, "You better be right" she mumbled

"I'm always right " he grinned before taking off down the street.

…..

The sound of the engines roaring died down as Daryl stopped in front of his family's garage,

'_Dixon's mechanics'_

Carol unwrapped her arms from around his waist and climbed off of his motorcycle, she stared at it confused.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked puzzled

"For a lil' privacy" he chuckled pulling his motorcycle inside the garage, he turned to look at her still staring at it.

"I'm gonna lock it c'mon" he said gruffly putting out a hand to her.

Carol hesitantly took his cold hand and followed him inside the garage, Daryl quickly locked it as he was checking nobody was watching them.

"Great place for another date" Carol laughed lightly.

Daryl chuckled and moved a hand out to lead Carol to the back of one of the trucks, Carol smiled warmly "Thank you"

Daryl climbed on after her and the two sat in the back with their legs crossed, they stared at each other in silence.

"Anythin' you want to do?" he asked gruffly as he stroked her hand.

Carol sighed, "I don't know…we've only got an hour left" she said sadly.

She didn't want to leave Daryl again to go back to Ed and face her reality.

"I'll get ya back in time"

Carol nodded slowly and gave him a small quick smile which almost immediately turned back into a frown, Daryl sighed and jumped out of the truck pacing towards the radio. He switched it on and the music slowly made its way out of the radio. He smirked at her his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'll dance with ya if it'll make ya feel better" he said roughly.

Carol's cheeks immediately went scarlet, she felt giddy.

"Really?" she asked smiling.

"Really"

Carol's smile almost broke her face she remembered weeks earlier when he had attempted to get Daryl to dance with her.

_"Come on Daryl dance with me"_ she whispered turning on the radio in the kitchen.

Daryl just stood there watching her with his arms crossed his body leaned against the wall not willing to move once.

_"Pfft I can't dance"_

She attempted many times by pulling him to the middle of the kitchen but he quickly charmed his way out of doing it. He was sneaky like that.

Carol's arms wrapped around his neck as she joined him in the middle of the garage.

_'Sometimes I get a feeling deep in my soul'_

"You like bad company?" she whispered resting her head on his shoulder.

Daryl shrugged moving his hand to brush through her silver soft hair,

Carol smiled, "I like them but I never really get to listen to them, Ed thinks all my music taste is bad" she sighed.

"Don't think about him…" he muttered kissing her head.

Carol purred quietly, "All I want is you" she smiled pressing her lips against his roughly.

Daryl returned the kiss mimicking hers, she smiled softly and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him forwards slowly.

"Follow me" he breathed through the kiss.

He grabbed her hand gently and opened the door to the truck slowly, the two of them fell to the backseat elegantly. Daryl leant down over her wrapping his arms beneath her as they kissed, her hands moved up and down his body exploring it all over again.

The music echoed in the background,

_'She brings me love, her love is all I need'_

Daryl carefully removed his shirt as Carol began to unbutton hers as she stared up at him exposing his chest. He leaned back down to kiss her this time moving his hips against hers. Carol's small hands moved to cup his face as he did so, she breathed deeply as he took in her sweet scent. He was beginning to get more and more turned on by her.

He slowly unbuttoned her jeans, staring at her beautiful eyes; she smiled up at him softly as she moved her hips to help him slide them off. Carol sat up carefully and undid his jeans for him pulling down his trousers and his underwear quickly.

Daryl smirked at her, "Someone's eager" he chuckled quietly.

"I did say we've only got an hour" she breathed letting him pull down her pants slowly.

Daryl pressed his lips against hers roughly as he smiled, his hands moved through her hair softly as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Carol's body tighten and her head bounced back as she felt Daryl slide into her quickly. She breathed deeply as he moved faster and faster inside of her to the point of her letting out a loud moan, his lips curled around her breast as he thrust into her he kissed them softly as she gripped his neck.

"I'll make this so good for ya" he grunted moving his lips to around her neck.

"God" she moaned moving her head to rest on his shoulder as he continued to thrust into her slowly. Her nails gripped onto his back tightly as she felt a powerful sensation begin to build up inside of her. Her mouth opened wide in a gasp.

She moaned long and loud as he grunted, sweating against her skin.

"God I'm c…com…" she couldn't get the words out it felt so good.

Daryl didn't stop he pressed her closer to him, "I got you" he breathed

Carol nodded still gripping onto him, "Don't stop" she moaned shutting her eyes tightly.

"Fuck" Daryl grunted his body now really tightening against hers.

Daryl rocked against her quickly his hips moving faster and faster on her command, his were cheeks flushed and his was body heated. Suddenly Daryl was coming with her, his body fell slowly against hers. She moved her arms to stroke his back gently.

"You were on tonight" she giggled wearily.

Daryl chuckled against her skin; "Must've been the music" he smiled

Carol laughed stroking his hair slowly; she loved his sense of humour. She loved how he still made jokes after sex and how he always made sure she felt good.

_She loved him._

"I never said it earlier but I love you" she breathed holding him against her softly.

Daryl chuckled again; "I know you do" he smiled kissing her softly on the lips.

Daryl carefully rolled off of her and moved next to her body, pulling her closely into him.

"What are going to do about Merle?" she yawned cuddling up to him.

"We'll be more careful I aint gonna end things with you" he said kissing her head

"Are you sure? I kind of want you to still be breathing next year" she smiled

Daryl smiled back, "You make me too damn happy for me to let ya go" he chuckled

Carol grinned warmly wrapping her free arm around him, "One day I'll leave with you and Sophia when I'm ready"

Daryl kissed her softly smiling against her lips, "Sounds like a plan"

Carol cuddled closer to him, "One day" she repeated quietly.

"Don't worry until then I'll be here everythin' will be okay"

She didn't know how he could promise her this and she didn't know how to believe him without feeling like she was going to explode but, she needed to keep hope for a little bit longer. Just for him.

"C'mon we should get dressed so I can take you back"

_Just a little bit longer._


	3. Chapter 3

(Warning Contains Mature Scenes)

Carol shivered as she carefully rubbed foundation over her bruises which almost covered her entire arm. She sniffed carefully as she rubbed gently trying not to cause herself anymore pain, she had to hide all of these from Daryl she didn't want him to get angry all she wanted was to spend an evening with him trying to forget her bastard husband. She stared painfully at the black eye he had given her, she hated him he was cruel and a fucking idiot. She shut her eyes gently as the tears suddenly began to fall again.

This was one of the stupidest things she could have done in their entire marriage, she had decided to stand up to Ed and had paid for it with a black eye, 6 bruises and 2 fresh belt marks on her back which hurt like hell. She turned around carefully and removed her vest, she winced as she stared at the 2 crimson lines on her back, her hand reached up to rub it with foundation softly but she immediately squealed in pain, it was useless she could never hide these they were too painful to touch and were too hard to reach to cover with foundation. She slowly slid her vest back on squinting her eyes tightly as it brushed against her back.

She sighed staring at herself in the mirror, her eyes checked every inch of her making sure nothing was visible.

Everything was hidden.

Carol threw the empty tube of foundation into the trash and switched off the bathroom light, she moved lightly across the passage leading to her bedroom and immediately walked towards her wardrobe flinging it open sharply. Her hands dug through the box desperately until she hit something cardboard, she dragged it out quickly and pulled out a long ruby evening dress, she had bought it earlier in the day while on one of the many shopping trips Ed had sent her on. Along with a pair of ruby heels to match. She smiled softly as she lay them on her bed.

She delicately threw off her clothes and began sliding the long scarlet dress up her body, she winced sharply as it brushed against her back, she shook her head tenderly and continued to slide it up her slender body she wasn't going to let Ed's marks ruin her. She turned her eyes gingerly towards the mirror and stared at herself for a few seconds, her mouth curved into a small smile as she stared. She actually felt beautiful for once. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of a small faded scar on her arm.

_'Whore'_

_'Worthless'_

Merle and Ed's words hit her like a speeding car, her self-esteem crashed and so did her body as it fell to the bed warily.

She shut her eyes as the memories of the evening flooded back her heart began to ache.

_"You're a little whore you know that?" Merle whispered to her limp body._

_She lifted her head up slowly to look at Merle, "Go to hell" she breathed before falling to the ground again._

She could still feel Merle's breath on her neck as she lay on the bed remembering, his cold breath making her spine shiver. Before he left with Ed to go on their 'Man's weekend' he uttered 3 words which Carol was beginning to feel were true.

_"You deserved it"_

She had been told that thousands of time from countless men in her life, mostly from Ed and it hurt each time. Because she believed it was true, she knew everything she was doing was wrong and she was being punished over and over for it.

But she couldn't stop.

Daryl was almost like a drug to her, she couldn't stop loving him even if she tried. She sat up slowly shaking her head, she wasn't going to let Merle and Ed's cruel words ruin her. She had an entire weekend of Daryl and she was ecstatic. One weekend with no Merle, No Ed, no pain and hurt, as long as she had Daryl by her side everything was going to be okay.

Carol slowly lifted herself off of her soft bed and paced over to the mirror picking up every bit of make-up she could spot, she licked her lips carefully after stroking the ruby lipstick over her them. She stared at herself for a few seconds in the mirror her mouth curving into a small smile, she felt beautiful.

The front door suddenly groaned and she froze holding her breath, what if it was Ed downstairs? How would see explain looking like this? Her heart raced quickly as her hands gripped her dress tightly.

"You know it's nice coming through the front door for once!" called Daryl his sweet voice echoed through the house and Carol let out a small breath of relief. "So you comin' down or what?" he called loudly, she could hear him dropping his bag on the wooden floor.

She smiled softly, "Yeah, I'll be…I'll be down in a minute!" she called back turning to look at herself in the mirror one last time.

Her eyes narrowed down to the patches on her arms which were now covered up with make-up. _What if he finds them?_ She thought nervously, losing her confidence quickly. She stared at herself in the mirror her eyes beginning to squint with displeasure. _I look ridiculous_ she thought disapprovingly. Carol shook her head vigorously, _He's seen you naked Carol, grow up_ she thought stupidly as she sauntered out of her bedroom gently.

Carol stood behind him watching as he lay on the couch silently, his eyes shut softly and his hands resting on his chest. She strode towards him silently hoping to surprise him; her hands moved softly to his long chocolate hair, she stroked him gently.

"Nice of ya to join me-"Daryl's sentence dropped off quickly, his eyes began blinking quickly, he sat up immediately gazing at her blankly in the long scarlet dress. He bit his lip softly as his eyes looked her up and down from her ruby heels to her sapphire eyes. He was completely mesmerized.

"Carol-"he began swallowing slowly.

He couldn't get his words out properly he was too amazed by her, "You look…beautiful" he said breathily.

Carol suddenly felt her cheeks go red, her head immediately bowed with embarrassment. Daryl chucked softly, moving his warm hands to cup her face. His lips pressed delicately against hers she could feel his smile against her lips as he kissed her.

"You should've given me a heads up you were gonna dress up might of cleaned myself up after work" he chuckled releasing her.

"I…I could go change if you want" she said nervously her cheeks now flushing a new shade of red.

Daryl chuckled reaching into his bag, "It's fine Carol I'm jokin'" his hand slowly pulled out a small bouquet of roses, "I got these on the way here" he smirked handing them to her.

"Thank you" she smiled warmly.

Daryl moved off of the couch and headed straight over to the kitchen like he usually did on their nights together. His hand smacked against the radio and suddenly music began flooding through the house, she giggled softly she loved how excited he got when he was allowed to cook for her.

"So how about I start cookin'?" he asked stretching to grab the pans from the cabinet, his trousers fell lightly resting on his hips, exposing his underwear. "Like the view?" he chuckled resting the pan on the cooker.

Carol blinked clearing her throat softly, she didn't realise she had been staring "W…Why don't you let me cook for you for once?" she asked trying to change the subject.

"Nah" he began lighting a cigarette for himself, "You cook too damn much for Ed and my asshole brother, you deserve a fuckin' break" he grunted switching on the hobs.

"You sure you're not just trying to avoid my awful cooking?" she teased resting herself on the couch.

Daryl's cigarette dropped from his mouth into the sink, he moved towards her slowly and pressed his lips against hers carefully, "When we live together you can cook sometimes, right now it's all on me" he murmured pulling away from her.

Carol nodded grinning warmly as she watched Daryl pace back towards the kitchen, "So what do ya want me to cook?" he called out opening the fridge.

"I don't mind"

"I'll go out and hunt some squirrel then" he smirked moving his head to eye her.

Carol's eyebrow raised slowly and Daryl's laughter suddenly filled the room, "I'm jus' jokin'" he chuckled staring at her unimpressed face.

Carol giggled quietly, "I might have some beef in the fridge with a little bit of sauce or something"

Daryl nodded as he pushed his hand to the back of the fridge, grabbing the two items and resting them on the counter. Carol stared down at her feet uncomfortably, her heels felt like they were murdering her feet.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and change my shoes okay?" she called picking herself up from the couch slowly.

"Okay!" he called as he planted the beef in the centre of the pan carefully.

Carol silently crept up the dark staircase, her feet aching more with each step she couldn't wait to get these off.

She let out a small breath of relief as she slid them off and threw them across the room far away from her, _never again_ she thought to herself painfully.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl's voice echoed through the house.

Carol slowly moved out of her bedroom in her slippers, was he okay?

"Daryl are you okay-" she began moving down the staircase.

She heard the hiss of the frying pan and then the loud noise of it being dropped suddenly.

"Fuck" he growled painfully.

Care immediately moved her hand across her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

_He was burning himself on the frying pan._

Carol carefully moved into the living room trying to contain her laughter, she could hear he was really struggling with this, "You need a hand?" she asked standing behind him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I can handle it" he grunted, suddenly he lifted his hand up sharply, "Fuck" he breathed holding his burned finger.

Carol laughed softly as he wrapped her slender arms around his abdomen, "You can ask for my help if you really need it" she murmured.

Daryl turned around slowly pulling her into a kiss, "I'm fine" he chuckled; The sound of The Beatles suddenly filled the kitchen, changing the entire mood.

_'Something in the way she moves'_

Carol buried her head into Daryl's chest carefully, "I like this song" she muttered

"Really?" Daryl murmured back, now placing his hands on her hips.

"Really"

Daryl gently guided her away from the oven towards the middle of the kitchen, one hand resting against her hip the other holding her hand tenderly in the air.

_'I don't want to leave her now, you know I believe and how'_

The voices echoed soothingly through the house, "You don't have to dance with me you know" she murmured beaming softly.

"I want to, quit complaining" he chuckled burying his head in the crook of her neck, his lips pressed against her soft skin taking in her sweet scent.

Carol's hand wrapped around Daryl's neck softly, her hands brushed through his silky hair smoothly.

"Dinner's gonna burn" she hissed quietly

Daryl smiled against her skin, "It's already ruined" he muttered

She shut her eyes gently as she swayed with him to the music, "I love you" she whispered lightly.

Daryl lifted his head up slowly and pressed his lips softly against her forehead, "I know you do" he chuckled.

Suddenly the music was blocked out as the sound of the smoke alarm rang through the house, causing both Carol and Daryl to detach from each other to cover their ears.

"So damn loud" Daryl said huskily moving to cover it with a cloth.

Carol grinned, "I told you, you should've let me help with dinner" she giggled resting against the counter.

The noise slowly died out as Daryl moved away from the smoke alarm, he chuckled lightly "Lets jus' order out"

"I think that'd be a good idea" she smiled pacing towards the couch.

Daryl grinned as he picked up the phone on the counter, "Turn on the TV for me will ya?" he asked turning to the wall.

Carol nodded reaching for the remote, as soon as the television switched on the bright face of the weather girl filled the screen. Carol sniffed softly as she stared at the woman's long blonde curly hair, her bright smile and hopeful eyes. Carol had lost all of that a long time ago or at least after she married Ed. Her hands reached up slowly to touch her short hair, she missed her curls more than anything. She remembered summers when she used be alone with Sophia when she was still a toddler, Ed was on trips, Sophia would use to play with her hair hours on end, never getting bored or tired she just loved playing with Carol's hair, it kept her happy and focused on one thing while all the other problems were going on around her.

Carol sighed staring at the woman that was the kind of woman she imagined Daryl with. What the hell was he doing with her? He probably could have any woman in their town with a few short pick-up lines and yet he stayed with her. She was confused.

She suddenly felt the couch bounce as Daryl jumped over the back of it, next to her his arm wrapped around her gently, "Food will be here in no time" he smirked, "I called the place down the street from us, should be 5 minutes tops" he purred kissing her head.

Carol nodded silently; she wasn't really in the mood for talking anymore.

_"…Also there is a slight chance of rain this weekend so grab your umbrellas" _smiled the weather girl.

"Damn" Daryl mumbled disappointedly

"W…What's wrong?" Carol squeaked quietly

"Damn rain is gonna mess up the weekend" he said dryly, he turned to her carefully "I was thinkin' of drivin' up to Savannah this weekend, I could borrow a truck and we could go together" he said huskily.

Carol turned her head sharply, "To stay?" she asked shocked

Daryl chuckled lightly, "I aint got the money yet"

"Oh"

"Would ya want to go?"

Carol sat up slowly, she stared at him for a few seconds trying to think her mouth tilting slightly to the side, "It's a four hour drive"

Daryl shrugged, "I'll drive faster"

Carol smiled softly as she cuddled into him again, "it'd be nice to get away for a little bit, and we'd be away from Ed's friends…" she hesitated for a second, "I'll go with you" she breathed leaning into him.

Daryl grinned as he pulled Carol closer to him, "I'll go up to my place tomorrow and grab my dad's camera I wanna remember this when I'm…I don't know in the hospital about to kick the bucket"

Carol stiffened beneath him, "Don't say that"

Daryl kissed her head softly, "Sorry…Jus' sayin' I want you to be my last memory or whatever…" he said going slightly red.

Carol sighed, "Let's change the subject"

Daryl nodded turning his head slowly, something suddenly caught his eye as he moved his attention elsewhere, on one of the shelves there was a small photograph of Carol, Ed and Sophia. In the picture all them actually looked happy, young and fresh. He smirked softly,

"You look great in that picture ya know" he smiled glancing up at it again, he paused for a moment, "Why do ya still have that up there?" he asked gruffly.

Carol laughed weakly, "It's a small reminder of when things between them used to be slightly better" She smiled softly, "And well I haven't really noticed it enough to take it down it doesn't mean anything to me or Ed, not anymore at least" she said sighing.

Daryl nodded slowly and then paused for a second again as he glanced back up at the picture,

"Why'd ya cut your hair?" he asked huskily.

Carol's stomach suddenly twisted, why the hell did he have to ask that question? What Ed did to her became a painful memory and all she wanted to do was forget it and move on. She sat there silently not daring to move or look him in the eyes.

"Carol?"

Carol opened her mouth carefully to respond but her words were quickly cut off as the sound of the door knocking caused Daryl to leap up from the couch and rush to it.

"Told ya they're fast" he smirked grabbing the cash from his pocket.

Carol nodded slowly and sadly trying to force a small smile for Daryl's benefit,

"I'll…grab some trays…" she muttered pacing towards the kitchen, her dress now dragging on the floor.

…..

Carol's foot kicked the empty pizza boxes as she cuddled closer to Daryl on the couch, they were both full and now lazily laying on the couch together. Carol smiled as she watched the television her favourite movie was on and she had somehow gotten Daryl to agree to watch it with her.

"This is my favourite scene" she whispered

She stared happily as she watched _Patrick Dempsey _and _Amanda Peterson _ride away on the lawn mower, she remembered the first time she had watched _'Can't buy me love' _It was around the time her and Ed had been in the early stages of their relationship. Ed had sat with her and agreed to watch the movie just like Daryl was, which worried her slightly. What if what happened to their relationship would happen with her and Daryl? Things were almost perfect with her and Ed and then suddenly everything changed. The thought scared her.

She tightened around Daryl softly, he grinned smoothly and moved to wrap his strong arm around her, "Maybe that's how I could take you away" he smirked.

"I wish" she giggled kissing his hand.

She glanced up at the clock carefully,

_12:45am_

"It's late we should go upstairs" she yawned

Daryl nodded silently as he turned off the television, Carol smiled softly as she cupped his face and kissed him, "Maybe we could stay awake for a few minutes when we get up there" she whispered sensually.

"Sounds like a plan" he chuckled moving his hands to her waist.

…

Carol and Daryl fell to the bed nakedly, both of their bodies hot against each other already Daryl carefully moved the bed sheet over the two of them as he climbed on top of her. As soon as his hands moved to stroke her back Carol let out a loud wail of pain which caused Daryl to immediately back off.

"You okay? What happened?" he asked sitting on the corner of the bed.

Carol held the sheets to her protectively, "Nothing I'm fine" she sniffed she didn't want Daryl to see her pain.

"Don't sound like nothin'" he muttered turning on the lamp on the night table.

Carol's eyes shut tightly as the light exposed everything, she could hear Daryl's sudden change in voice as he spoke to her.

"When did you get these?" he asked moving to touch her arm carefully.

Carol swallowed delicately she suddenly felt like she had a large lump in her throat, "A…about an hour before you arrived" she said shakily now letting all the tears flow.

Daryl's arms grabbed her into a hug, "Son of a bitch, swear I'm gonna gank him if I see him" he spat furiously.

Carol's head buried into Daryl's chest sharply, she was beginning to break down again and lose control "Stop Daryl please…Just s…stop talking about Ed and these damn scars…just stop" she sobbed wrapping her arms around his abdomen.

Daryl shushed her quietly as he pressed himself against her softly, "It's okay I've got you", his hands stroked through her hair evenly, "I won't let him hurt you like this again, you hear me? He's a fuckin' dead man" he hissed pressing his head into her neck carefully.

Carol continued to sob ignoring his soothing words, she knew it was all a lie she didn't want Daryl to protect her because if he did she knew it would result in his death by Ed's hands. She couldn't let that happen to him because of her, she wasn't worth the fight.

"Did he hurt ya anywhere else?" he asked moving his finger beneath her chin.

Carol nodded silently, she used her tears to clean under her eye. As soon as Daryl caught sight of Carol's black eye he grabbed her closer pressing his head on top of hers, his lips pressing against them roughly.

"He's a fuckin' dead….fuckin' dead" he repeated angrily.

"Stop it please I just want to focus on you" she whispered shakily the tears still dripping from her eyes.

The tears just continued falling and they wouldn't stop.

She stared up at Daryl his expression was hard and painful she could see the anger and hurt in his eyes, she didn't want this for him.

"I'll be right back" he muttered strolling out of the room, the sheet wrapped around his waist.

Carol nodded silently now laying against the wall with the sheets held against her tightly, she buried her head in her knees. _I've pissed him off_ she thought to herself miserably.

"Come here" he hissed softly,

Carol glanced up to see Daryl sitting on the edge of the bed with a small box of bandages in one hand and a bottle of disinfectant in the other,

"You fixed me, now I'm gonna fix you" he said holding her hand gently.

Carol bowed her head slowly, Daryl treated her too nicely she didn't deserve it. Daryl glanced up her sadly and shook his head, as he began wrapping bandages around her small cuts and bruises, he kissed each one softly trying to let her know everything was going to be okay but she didn't budge. She continued to avoid looking him in the eyes, it felt too painful.

"Turn around" he muttered dousing one of the bandages in disinfectant.

She obeyed wearily still not speaking once, she winced as Daryl began wiping her back gently with the disinfectant it burned her skin. Carol let out a small cry of pain as he wiped them, he kissed her shoulder gently as he stroked her arm.

"It's okay I'm sorry…" he began, "I'm gonna stay with you all weekend" he said taking in her sweet scent.

Carol didn't respond, she didn't feel like speaking anymore. Daryl sniffed quietly as he removed the bandages from her back, "I think I'm done…we should get some shut eye" he said dryly as he kicked the box and bottle to the ground.

"Night…" he hesitated as he switched off the light.

He slid next to her gently as he wrapped his arms around her body pulling her slightly closer to him, Carol tensed up suddenly and he let go.

"Sorry" he mumbled turning away from her.

Carol sighed quietly and turned to wrap her arms around his body, "Thank you" she whispered nuzzling into his neck.

Daryl kissed her soft hands carefully, "It's nothin'" he muttered shutting his eyes.

Carol smiled evenly against his skin, "Goodnight"

"Night"

She fell asleep almost immediately, her hands over Daryl's chest remembering that everything was going to be okay as long as she had him.

_Or at least_

_She hoped it would be okay._

_…._

When Carol woke up the next morning there was something missing from her bed, the warmth was missing leaving half of the bed cold. Carol's hands smoothened across the bed lightly as her eyes flickered open.

"Daryl?" she mumbled sleepily

No response

She sat up slowly to find herself alone in the bed, "Daryl?" she called out worriedly, where could he have gone? Maybe she really did piss him off the night before and he had just left in the middle of the night. Carol hurriedly snatched her robe from the floor to cover her naked body, she quickly rushed out of her bedroom hoping Daryl hadn't left angrily.

Just as she was about to rush down the stairs she suddenly heard whistling coming from the bathroom and the sound of the water in the shower running, she carefully pressed her ear against the door.

"Daryl?" she whispered hesitantly

No response again.

_"Somethin' in the way she moves…"_

Carol's immediately covered her mouth to avoid laughing out loud; Daryl was singing in the shower she didn't think Daryl was the type to sing in the shower. She smiled softly about to raise her hand to knock on the door but she quickly pulled it away realising her opportunity. This was probably only time in their relationship Carol would be able to make him feel as good as he's made her feel. She grinned and quickly sprinted down the stairs towards the kitchen.

The smell of bacon filled the entire kitchen as she hummed while setting the bouquet of flowers Daryl had given her on the table, the plates clanged as she set them on either sides of the table carefully.

The sound of footsteps could suddenly be heard as Carol scooped the bacon onto each of the plates, before Daryl could speak Carol's lips were already pressed roughly against his, her fingers tangling with his damp hair.

"Morning" she smiled pulling away from him

Daryl grinned happily, "Someone's in a good mood"

Carol shrugged as she began pouring two glasses of orange juice, Daryl eyed the food on the table smirking "I was gonna make breakfast for you"

Carol grinned pulling out her seat, "Well I guess I beat you to it"

Daryl grinned back setting himself down on the other side of the table, his knife and fork immediately attacked the food on his plate, Carol giggled behind her glass as she watched him stuff his mouth.

"You know I heard you singing in the shower this morning, do you always do that?" she asked taking a bite out of her food.

"Only when I'm in a good mood" he said his words muffled by his food, he quickly swallowed lightly and moved his hand to rest on hers, "You okay from last night?" he asked curiously

"I'm fine" she smiled sipping from her glass.

"You sure? I could jus' blow it off if ya not feelin' up for it"

"I feel better today it's fine…you fixed me" she grinned giving Daryl's hand a quick peck

Daryl nodded staring at her lovingly, his hand reached into the pot of flowers resting on the table carefully, he grabbed one of the flowers and tucked it into Carol's pastel robe.

"Could wear that tonight" he smirked continuing to stare into her sapphire eyes.

"Tonight?"

"Savannah's got beaches, thought maybe we could go down there when things quieten down at night"

"That'd be nice" Carol smiled

Daryl gave her a warming grin back and pushed his plate to the middle of the table before he quickly made his way in the direction of the staircase,

"Hey, where are you going?" she called picking up her drink.

"Gotta clean myself up a bit and need to grab my stuff so we can ride out to my place later" he called back marching up the steps

"Okay" Carol called in almost a whisper, as soon as she heard the bathroom door slam shut she buried her head in her arms on the table, her cheeks were flushed.

_She was beginning to fall for him even harder_

_…._

"You set to go?" asked Daryl beginning to start up the engines

Carol nodded, then stupidly realising Daryl couldn't see her, "Yeah I think I have everything for the weekend" she spoke over the now roaring engines of Daryl's motorcycle

"Great, Jus' gonna head up to my place to pick up a few thing" he said dryly putting his helmet over his head, "You sure you don't wanna wear this?" he asked tenderly

"I'm fine, I'd feel better if you were wearing it" she said nervously her arms clutching his waist tightly, "Are we still going to Savannah by truck or are we riding your motorcycle?" asked Carol her stomach beginning to turn.

Daryl chuckled lightly, "I don't know the cycle might be faster" he smirked knowing how Carol felt.

Carol frowned, "I'm a little bit nervous…"

"You're on my motorcycle all the time"

"Not for four hours!" Carol whined hitting him softly.

Daryl chuckled again this time the sound of his laughter overtook the loud roar of the motorcycle, Carol frowned again "It's not funny"

Daryl smiled moving his hand to stroke hers gently, "Okay, we'll go back to my place, get my shit and then we can swing by the mechanics and grab a truck"

"That's a little better" grinned Carol squeezing his hand delicately.

"Hold on then" he said before taking off down the street quickly.

…..

Daryl's house was small, old and cold. The smell of cigarettes and alcohol burned in her nose as she stepped into the house, there were old magazines covering the floor along with a small television sitting in the corner with one big chair facing it possibly meant for the alpha of the family. Everything about the house seemed cold and lonely, maybe even lonelier than her home. She turned to look at Daryl carefully, his eyes were narrowed away from hers the look on his face showed embarrassment and shame. She moved her hand gently to grip his flashing him a small, warm smile.

Daryl returned the small smile but continued to look away from her not bothering to make eye contact, "Sorry about the mess….house is kind of a piece of shit" he mumbled shutting the front door.

"It's fine Daryl" she smiled softly

"Not really here a lot to clean it up…" he continued nervously

Carol gripped his hand gently, "It's fine Daryl relax" she said reassuringly

Daryl nodded slowly and released her hand carefully, "2 seconds" he breathed before sprinting up the stairs.

Carol hesitantly moved her feet across his cold wooden floor and flung herself gently onto the couch, she exhaled as her eyes searched around the room. Her head tilted slightly as she suddenly caught sight of a small picture hanging on the wall. Daryl and Merle both grinned brightly in the picture, they stood behind a dead deer with two cross-bows held high in their hands, their other hands were around each other's necks. She frowned at first but then began to smile, she hated Merle more than anything but she liked seeing Daryl happy, it made her feel happy.

_They must be close_ Carol thought blinking lightly at the photo.

Suddenly Carol's eyes caught sight of another picture sitting on the shelf, but this picture was different from any of the others in the house, the frame was shiny, cleaner and more expensive than the others. It must've meant something to everyone in his family, in the picture there was a very beautiful blonde woman smiling, her hair was long, curly and chestnut coloured, it rested on her shoulders lightly. Her face was completely flawless, young and fresh. She tilted her head again wondering who it could be? A sister maybe?

The sound of Daryl's footsteps suddenly filled the room as he rushed back down the stairs with a camera hanging on his neck, "Ready to go?" he asked grabbing his bag from the floor.

Carol nodded slowly still staring at the photo, "Who is that?" she asked walking towards him.

Daryl's head bowed gently, "My mom"

Carol's heart suddenly thudded, he never spoke about his mother and there must've been a reason for that. Why the hell was she so stupid?

"W…What happened to her?" she asked sliding her hand into his carefully.

Daryl chuckled quietly and painfully, she could feel his grip on her hand grow tighter "When I was a kid I went out playin' with some other kids in the neighbourhood, while I was gone my mom must've left the gas on or somethin' cause the house burned down with her inside of it…there was nothin' left of her when they put it out, she was jus' gone…" said Daryl dryly, he glanced up at the picture giving a small quick smile.

Carol turned to him and pulled him into a strong hug, she rested his head on her shoulder as she brushed her fingers through his hair, "God Daryl I'm so sorry" she whispered holding him close.

Daryl chuckled lightly, "My asshole father was out playing poker with some friends and Merle was in prison so it was just me, she was the only decent person in my damn family and was the first to go" he said the tension in his voice raising, "My dad didn't appreciate her, jus' bashed her about all the time ordering her to cook, clean or whatever he didn't love her she was like a…trophy to him that's it" the anger in Daryl's voice rose.

Carol shushed him quietly, "It's okay Daryl-"Carol began but her words were cut off by Daryl's rant.

"Merle didn't care about her either, used to treat her like shit…." Daryl said hugging Carol closer.

Carol could feel Daryl's pain, she was so sorry she had ever brought this up she could see it still caused him pain even after all these years. Her hands patted Daryl's back carefully she could feel his body tense against hers.

"I'm not gonna let anythin' happen to you" he breathed holding her close

Carol smiled resting her head on his shoulder, "I know Daryl, I know"

Daryl slowly released her his head shaking, he had a small smirk on his face as he sniffed she could see he was feeling ridiculous, "Anyway" he breathed, "We should leave now…" he said showing her the camera hanging on his neck.

He opened the front door silently not making eye contact with her once, he pointed towards the bike sharply, "Sit on my motorcycle" he said calmly

"Why?" she asked tilting her head slightly to the left.

Daryl grinned weakly, "You'll see"

Carol nodded slowly and moved to rest on the motorcycle carefully, he grinned moving the camera to his eyes, "Give me a lil' smile"

Carol obeyed immediately flashing a large smile for Daryl, she wanted to keep him happy especially after the incident which had just occurred inside his home. The flash quickly went off and the picture immediately fell from his camera, he shook it lightly waiting for the photo to fade into sight.

"It's my dad's old camera…" he began as he shook the photo

"It's fine Daryl I like it" she smiled still resting herself on the back of the motorcycle

Suddenly the corners of Daryl's mouth curved into a large smile, "Kind of photogenic don't ya think?" he beamed showing her the photo.

Carol smiled warmly but paused for a few seconds as she stared at the photo, "Should you be keeping pictures of me around the place? It's kind of risky…" she hesitated

He walked towards her steadily, his hands tucking the picture into his pocket carefully

"I'll keep em' somewhere private" he smirked stroking her cheek softly

Carol's cheeks slowly began going scarlet, her hands carefully moved to take the camera from around his neck, "Sit on the bike" she demanded walking backwards.

Daryl chuckled sitting down roughly on the motorcycle, he flashed a small, shy smile as he leaned his elbows onto the front of the motorcycle, the flash quickly went off and Carol began making her way back over to Daryl, shaking the photo vigorously. She climbed onto the back of the motorcycle with the camera still hanging by her neck, her hands wrapped around his waist tightly as she rested her head against his back.

"You ready to go?" he muttered starting up the engines.

"Mhmm" Carol murmured gripping him tightly.

"Alright' let's go then" he said roughly over the sounds of the engines roaring.

….

It was taking forever to leave as they were stuck in traffic which went on for hours down the highway, Carol's hand tightened around Daryl's as they sat silently in the truck. She didn't want to make Daryl lose his focus on the road. Her eyes slowly glanced up at him, his face was completely concentrated on the road he didn't even move once when Carol's hand relaxed around his. She squeezed it gently trying to get his attention,

"Daryl?"

Daryl glanced down at her, a small smile forming on his face

"Yeah?"

Carol swallowed nervously, "How long do you think this will last?"

"What will last?" he asked moving his hand to switch on the radio.

"You know" Carol frowned bending her head back to rest on the seat.

His hand tighten around hers delicately, "A long time" he smiled reassuringly

Carol moved her head back down to stare at him, "You can't be sure…" Carol mumbled

Daryl's finger slowly it's way up to her chin he stroked calmly,

"I'm not gonna leave you" he grinned kissing her forehead lightly, "Don't worry about that now, jus' remember one day we can leave jus' the two of us and your little girl in this truck and we won't come back" he smiled wrapping his arm around her.

Carol nodded gradually, resting her head on Daryl's strong chest. She wished she could trust him, like she said before he can't be sure. What they were doing this weekend was a giant, stupid risk which she could pay for. Maybe with her life or with losing Daryl. She shut her eyes tightly trying not to think about it, she couldn't lose him.

"Man, this traffic looks like it goes on for miles" Daryl sighed annoyed, his eyes narrowed down carefully and he suddenly began chuckling quietly to himself.

Carol's eyes flickered open as she heard Daryl's laughter above her,

"What's so funny?" she asked sitting up.

"Nothin'"

"Tell me" she whined

"Okay, Okay" Daryl grumbled now relaxing in his seat, "I was wonderin' why you decided to give me a chance?"

Carol breathed lightly she was surprised he was the one to ask this question first, she always thought of herself as the one who was curious about these type of things worrying about them constantly.

"You're a good man, a better man than Ed" she smiled cuddling closer to him, "And you weren't bad looking either…" she added on quietly.

Daryl smirked proud of himself, his arm rested over Carol's shoulder pulling her closer into him.

"Why did you choose me?" asked Carol smoothly

Daryl's eyes narrowed down, "What d'ya mean?"

Carol sighed, "There are so many women in this town, some a lot more attractive than me why did you stay with me instead of going to them?" she asked relieved she could finally get this irritating question off her chest.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly"

"I thought you were gorgeous, but in a really classy way, and well you seemed like great lady" he breathed his cheeks slightly changing colour, "I'm so glad I met you"

Carol smiled beneath him, "I'm glad I decided to save your ass that day" she giggled quietly

She yawned gently as Daryl kissed the top of her head, "You want to sleep?" he asked shifting his weight slightly

Carol fought to keep her eyes open, "no it's-" Carol yawned loudly, "…fine" she said sleepily.

"It's gonna be a long trip and it's pretty early in the mornin' you can if ya want"

"You sure?"

Daryl nodded moving his arm back to the wheel, Carol nodded resting her head against the window of the truck. She felt like death.

"I got a poncho in the back if you want it"

Carol slowly narrowed her eyes to look at him to see if he was joking, his face was dead serious.

"You have a poncho?" she giggled teasingly, "Didn't think you were the type to wear one"

Daryl shrugged, turning down the volume on the truck. "Jus' for the winter" he muttered.

They both turned their heads in sync to look at each other and suddenly burst into a roar of laughter, Daryl's face went pink as he rested it on the wheel laughing into it. She was happy Daryl was in a much better mood, she was beginning to get worried about him after her visit in his home.

"I'm fine" she breathed trying to gain her control back.

"Relax then" he muttered letting her rest her head on his chest.

She obeyed and after only a few minutes she was unconscious on his chest.

Daryl stared down at her taking in her beauty. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her; he didn't deserve her at all. His lips pressed down on her head delicately.

_He was beginning to fall in love with her more and more._

….

Carol woke up hours later with her face pressed against something warm and soft, her neck stiff and her mouth dry. She licked her lips gently as she lifted her head up from the soft object she turned her head painfully to see she had been lying on Daryl's poncho. She groaned as she rubbed her face with the back of her hand. Once her eyes had fully opened she began to panic, the truck was completely empty with AC/DC blasting out of the radio. She pushed buttons of the radio gently and began looking around, all that was in sight as a small store and a large empty road.

She groaned again as she pushed the truck door open and stretched her legs out, wincing as her joints refused to cooperate. Her back ached as she stretched herself out when she stepped onto the hot ground. Her eyes searched around the empty lot carefully, checking to see if Daryl had just gone into the forest to pee.

No sign of him anywhere

She paced towards the store, opening the door with a lazy pull. She rubbed her eyes gently as she searched around the store with her eyes. Finally she spotted a tall man with Daryl's build and backpack; she smiled wearily as she made her way towards him. Her arms wrapped around his abdomen. He quickly jumped spinning around to see who had hugged him from behind, he grinned as he spotted Carol smiling against him. He slid the money across the counter, as he waited for cigarettes and two bottles of Dr Pepper.

"I didn't want to wake you" Daryl muttered moving one arm to wrap around her waist.

Carol smiled sleepily still resting her head against him, "Where are we?"

"In Savannah, but we're still a few miles away from the motel I wanna take you to"

Carol nodded glancing up at the cashier handing Daryl his cigarettes and bottles of Dr Pepper, his arm stuck out gently signalling Carol to take it. The two of them strolled out of the store quickly, Carol stumbling along the way. She was still tired as hell.

Carol sleepily slid herself back into the truck, flinging herself into her seat sharply her head bobbing back. Daryl's hand gently brushed against hers as he handed her the bottle silently, Carol warmed him with a small smile as she rested it on her lap, delicately shutting her eyes.

"Have you been driving four hours straight?" Carol murmured sleepily

"Five, and yeah" he said turning up the radio, causing Carol to open her eyes sharply. He balanced his cigarette carefully in his mouth as he began driving away from the lot.

"How?" asked Carol in shock, she could never drive five hours straight without going insane or falling asleep at the wheel.

Daryl chuckled rolling up the window, "A few cigarettes and music"

Carol smiled softly resting her hand on his leg, "Maybe you should lay off the cigarettes, you know considering it's been five hours"

Daryl shrugged dropping the cigarette out of the window, "Consider it done" he smirked

Carol nodded tiredly as she turned her head to stare out the window at the many passing cars, she sighed sleepily.

"What time is it?"

"Clock store said 1pm" he said taking a sip from his bottle

Carol nodded again trying to keep herself from falling asleep again, "What are we gonna do in Savannah?"

Daryl smiled moving one hand to stroke hers, "Whatever you want, it's my turn to treat ya" he chuckled

"You always treat me" she giggled

"Well ya deserve to be treated" he smirked removing his hand from hers.

Carol grinned sleepily and suddenly felt herself yawning again, this time the yawn was loud enough to attract Daryl's attention.

"You wanna sleep again? It's a long trip"

Carol shook her head wearily "You might start sneaking cigarettes again" she giggled resting her head against the window.

"Okay" he smiled stomping his foot on the pedal beginning to speed down the road.

Carol was definitely awake now.

….

Carol's legs flew into the air while Daryl fell on top of her, the two of them laughing as they fell onto the rough motel bed. She rolled on top of him kissing him softly on the nose which crinkled at her soft touch.

"It's great to get away from that shitty town for once" he said huskily returning the kiss

Carol playfully ran her hands down Daryl's body making him shiver slightly, "Should we leave the bag here and walk down to the town?" she purred against his skin.

Daryl's lips pressed against hers softly, his stubble tickling her chin.

"I don't know, maybe I could spend the whole afternoon jus' laying here with you" he grinned against her lips.

"It's already 1:30 we should start moving" she said kissing him

Daryl nodded and slid himself away from Carol, his hands scrambling through his bag to grab his camera and money. Carol sat up staring at him, she admired his energy.

"Ready to go?" he asked his smile wide and eager

….

Carol's blouse stuck to her as she strolled out of the motel door with Daryl on her arm, she wiped the sweat from her head with the back of her hand. She glanced up at Daryl, he still had a bright grin on his face she could easily tell he was excited. Hell, if you saw him from a distance you'd probably be able to see his excitement with a grin that big.

"So what d'ya want to do?" he asked wrapping his arm around her waist.

Carol paused thinking for a second, then the idea finally hit her. She moved in front of him smirking proudly, "I want to get a tattoo" she grinned

Daryl's eyes widened immediately, his mouth curving into a small impressed smile "A tattoo?"

"Yes" she grinned, proud that she was shocking Daryl for once

"Won't Ed see it…?"

"There are….certain places I don't let Ed see anymore" she said raising an eyebrow.

Daryl nodded hesitantly, "You sure you want one? It hurts like hell"

Carol nodded sweetly, "I don't care I want a small reminder of you" she grinned wrapping his arm around her again.

"Okay" Daryl mumbled pulling her closer, "Let's go then, I know a good one up the street from here"

Carol smiled as she walked with him slowly.

Carol's interest in tattoos first arose a few weeks ago after her and Daryl had, had rough sex. It was the first time she was able to properly explore his tattoos and she loved each and everyone one of them mainly because they each came with a memory and that's what she wanted. She didn't give a damn if it hurt or not she wanted to be reckless for once.

"After you" Daryl grunted pulling the door open carefully.

She strolled in her heart suddenly pumping a lot harder than it had before.

….

Carol winced as the needle dug into her lower back, she was already ready to back out but it was too late. Daryl's hand clasped hers tightly as she let out a few small groans of pain, burying her face into the chair. She had decided to get a small cross tattoo with wings (Which matched Daryl's jacket) on her lower back. Ed hardly ever saw the bare skin hidden under her clothes, so it was a safe choice.

"How does it feel?" Daryl chuckled enduring another sharp squeeze as Carol winced again.

"How the hell do you think it feels?" she muttered her voice muffled by the chair.

He chuckled loudly as she continued to squeeze his hand.

"Man lady, you got a lot of battle scars on your back what the hell you been doin'? gladiator fightin'?" chuckled the tattooist as he lined down her back.

Carol stayed silent, despite the pain making her want to scream and punch the tattooist,

"Not a talker huh" he laughed

"Hey, mind ya own damn business" snapped Daryl defensively.

The tattooist seemed to back off immediately, "Alright man sorry….Jus' a lil bit longer lady" he said quietly.

After enduring a few more minutes of pain the tattoo was finally done, she stared as she moved her back to check it out in the mirror, she smiled at how beautiful it looked despite her crimson skin. Daryl stared at her a small smile forming, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched.

"Got some backbone" he joked

The tattooist's sigh filled the room, "C'mon I have to bandage it up" he sighed annoyed.

Carol nodded slowly and made her way over to him carefully, her skin shivered as he began binding around her, "Only got to keep this on for an hour, oh and don't shower with it for a few hours don't want an infection do ya?" he chuckled.

Daryl glared at him unimpressed, as soon as he was done binding Carol he stomped over to him slamming the money into his lap sharply not bothering to utter another word to him.

"Bastard" he muttered leaving the store.

Just as Carol opened her mouth to respond, she noticed a large crowd of people and immediately gripped Daryl's arm pulling him with her towards it. Her eyes lit up as she stared at the many people dancing and marching in the streets in multi-coloured costumes.

"It must be a parade" she grinned happily.

She got on her tiptoes trying to gain some height but quickly gave up miserably, Daryl glanced down at her and bent down slowly moving his arms backwards to support her.

"Want some height?"

"Height? What do you?-"

Before Carol could ask anything else Daryl was already pulling her onto his back, her arms wrapped around his neck along with her legs wrapping around his waist.

"Better?" he chuckled

"Better" Carol giggled kissing his head softly.

Her eyes widened as she watched all the beautiful floats going past, she felt so happy and free, she had a tattoo something she never would've thought about getting months ago and she had Daryl she one man who managed to make her feel good and had finally brought more light into her life, she leaned her head onto Daryl's carefully.

"Look at that bitch over there" yelled a voice

Her head immediately spun around stupidly, she was so used to being called that. She glanced over to a small group of men sitting in a corner drinking beers, Were they talking about her? She shook her head, they couldn't have been she was just paranoid.

"Too old to be around here, you know what I'm saying?" roared one of the men.

Carol's confidence immediately went down, she began squirming away from Daryl she wanted to get out of their sight quickly.

"Daryl could you let me down…I'm gonna get some drinks for us" she said hesitating, her eyes turning to look at the men again, her throat suddenly felt dry.

Daryl carefully bent down again letting Carol slid off of his back slowly,

"Okay, want me to come with ya?" he asked standing up straight again.

"No" Carol responded a little bit too quickly, "No I'm fine on my own" she breathed shaking her head.

Before Daryl could get another word in Carol was already rushing through the sea of people nearly tripping over her own feet. As soon as she reached the drinks stall, she stuffed her hand right into her pocket and slid it across the table, her eyes shifting from left to right making sure the men were nowhere to be seen.

"2 cokes" she said now leaning herself against the table, her heart immediately began pounding as she caught sight of the four men staring at her, each of them making small comments to each other.

Carol turned her back on them desperately wishing the man would hurry up with the drinks, all she wanted was to get far away from them and back to Daryl where it was safe. The man slowly handed Carol her two drinks, she didn't hesitate she quickly grabbed them and turned to rush back to Daryl as she pushed through the crowd she suddenly felt a strong hand grip her shoulder, pulling her out of the crowd sharply.

She fell backwards against the wall, her drinks spilling on to her.

"look at this old broad dressin' like she's got somethin' worth while" roared one of the men stroking her shoulder softly.

Carol shivered disgustedly, she felt like she was surrounded by a group of Merles and Eds. One of the men stared at her, a small smirk building up on his face. He moved his arm to stroke her face carefully. She winced slapping his hand away sharply and suddenly the men began roaring with laughter.

"She don't want ya Randall, probably don't even swing for the same team look at that haircut" one of the larger men chuckled, "Useless"

Carol swallowed dryly as she tried to fight back from crying, she wasn't going to let them see her cry not like this. She folded her arms tightly bowing her head trying to avoid eye contact with any of these disgusting men.

_'Randall' _wrapped his arm around her waist tightly, his breath stinking of beer "I don't know she might not be useless, how about you come back to my place for a lil' fun darlin'" he smiled pressing his lips into her cheek.

Carol's eyes suddenly spotted a small gap in-between the group of men she pushed past the men without any hesitation wanting to get away from them quickly. Randall's hands quickly cupped her ass, Carol turned around sharply slapping him hard across the face. _Damn it_ she thought painfully as her hand burned from the slap. Randall glared at her shoving her hard against the wall, Carol let out a small cry of pain as her head knocked backwards, his hands gripped her wrists tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"You know other girls might be flattered but you, you aint like them" he spat leaning in close to her face, "You're nothin', you're useless" he growled squeezing tighter. Tears began escaping her eyes, sliding down her face like a river moving down stream.

"Who the hell would want ya!?" he snarled.

"Me sunshine"

The sudden familiarity of the voice caused Carol to open her eyes immediately, her heart raced as she watched Daryl standing behind Randall his fists tight and his face almost going crimson. Randall laughed cruelly as he let go of Carol, making her fall to the ground sharply.

"What's a pussy like you gon' do?" he challenged

Daryl took a large step forward, his face almost pressing into Randall's "I'm gonna stomp your ass" he barked furiously

Carol picked herself off of the ground shakily, her hand moved gently to Daryl's chest pushing him back carefully "Daryl don't…let's just leave…" she whispered quietly

She didn't want to lose Daryl like this, he was completely outnumbered and it bothered Carol greatly that he couldn't see that.

He was too reckless.

Carol gently slid her hand into his beginning to pull him away, his breath was still heavy as he stared back at the men furiously.

"Daryl just walk away please" she whispered

Daryl exhaled lightly finally letting his body give in to walk along with her, he wrapped his arm around her waist protectively. Just as they were about to return to the parade, Randall's voice could be heard yelling again.

"Yeah, walk away with ya whore!"

That was the final straw.

Daryl's hand harshly moved away from Carol's his body moving briskly away from hers,

"Son of a bitch" he snarled punching Randall square in the face.

Carol's hands immediately flew to her mouth as she watched the other 3 men jump on Daryl pulling him down to the ground, they began punching him knocking him to the ground and picking him up again to hurt him even more. Carol began screaming at them to stop but none of them listened they just continued hitting him over and over, what if they killed him? It was just like the night she met him all over again. She could see him getting weaker his words getting slurred and his eyes forcing themselves open. She had to do something or she was going to lose him, suddenly she looked to the ground spotting a few empty glass bottles.

She grabbed them tossing them all at the men causing them to fall down clutching the back of their heads. She raced over to Daryl pulling him away from the fight, his legs shaking as he walked with her.

"Daryl?" she cupped his face , "Daryl are you okay?" she whispered desperately.

Daryl coughed dryly, "I'm gonna stomp their asses" he muttered weakly.

Carol smiled softly hugging him close to her, "I think you've done enough" she whispered leading him away before the men began ganging around them again.

Daryl nodded weakly finally letting Carol lead him away from the men,

"Come on I'm gonna fix you" Carol hesitated for a moment, "Again…"

…..

Carol carefully wrapped Daryl's bleeding hand as sat silently on the bed, it had taken half an hour to walk back to the motel and another half of an hour to clean all of Daryl's wounds. She was glad to be back at the motel though everything was beginning to get crazier and crazier. She stared at him as he sat there silently, his mouth curved into a small smile when he caught her looking. She didn't return the smile she was too concentrated on all the injuries hiding his body.

"You okay?" she mumbled cleaning his other hand

"Yeah, are you okay?" he asked curiously

Carol nodded slowly, "I'm just a little bit shaken"

Daryl moved his arms to wrap around her carefully, she quickly moved her hand to push him back gently "keep still I need to fix your hand up" she smiled, Daryl chuckled lightly moving his arms back to their original positions. "Doesn't this remind you of something?" she smiled wrapping another bandage over his arm.

Daryl chuckled again moving his hand to stroke Carol's arm gently, she bent her head calmly

"You know you really didn't have to do that"

"Those assholes had it coming to them…" he said huskily.

"You could've got yourself killed!" Carol cried angrily

"But I didn't" he said quietly.

Carol stared at him bewildered how the hell could he be so calm about this? He was too reckless and she fucking hated it.

"You were outnumbered! Anything could've happened!" she snapped furiously. She buried her head in her hands letting Daryl's hand droop down to his side, she couldn't bear the thought of losing him. Not after she'd gotten so close to him,

"I can't lose you" she whispered

Daryl's arms wrapped around her smoothly, she rested her head against his chest taking in his scent,

"I aint goin' anywhere, nothin' is gonna happen while I'm here" he said gruffly stroking her back gently.

Carol nodded pulling away from Daryl, she sat on the end of the bed turning her back away from him "I uh I don't feel like doing anything right now…I've kind of had enough for one day" she sighed moodily as she lay herself on the bed tiredly.

"You gonna stay up here?"

Carol nodded silently rolling onto her side.

"Okay" Daryl mumbled, kissing her softly on the cheek, "I'll be back in a few hours, jus'…stay safe" he said dryly as he shut the door quietly.

Carol curled up into a ball holding her knees close to her body, she knew she had probably pissed Daryl off, again. But all she was trying to do was protect to him, she couldn't lose him she just wanted him to stay breathing for another year. He couldn't die because of her.

_She'd never forgive herself_

_…_

Carol's eyes flickered open as the automated lights shined through the curtains, she yawned sitting up groggily her neck ached from sleeping in such an awkward position, she stretched letting out a small yelp of pain as one of her bones clicked sharply. She paused for a second searching the room with her eyes,

Daryl wasn't back yet.

_Oh God_ Carol thought worriedly, what if she really had pissed him off this time? What if he was out with someone else because of how tired he was of her? She shook her head realising how stupid she sounded. Daryl had made so many promises to stay with her and one small fight wasn't going to break those promises. Maybe he'd gone out again and gotten drunk for a few hours, whatever the reason she needed to find him quickly to make sure he was safe. She quickly ran over to the drawers to grab her jacket when she noticed something.

A small crumpled note sitting on top of her drawers, she picked it up carefully raising it into the light to get a better view of what it said,

_'You still up for the beach?_' Was written very quickly and messily on the piece of paper, she shut her eyes softly realising where he was and quickly put the note down to rush out of the door.

….

Carol felt herself smile as she paced down to the empty shore, she threw her head back lightly as she inhaled the fresh sea air. The navy water crashed against the rocks as she sat herself down in the soft sand, she lifted her hands up gently letting the sand pour back down silently. She sighed staring up at the sky, it was a beautiful night the light from the moon shone on the sea making it seem even more perfect. She looked around expecting Daryl to jump out but there was no sign of him, what the hell was he doing?

"Daryl?" she called out nervously

No response.

She sighed again this time laying herself down in the sand, she glanced up at the sky smiling evenly as she watched the few stars gleam in the sky. She wasn't used to seeing stars, there were usually clouds hiding them but tonight unusually was a perfect night. Suddenly the sound of whistling could be heard coming behind her, she smiled softly as she recognized the tune. She turned around slowly to see Daryl standing behind her looking sharp for once, in his hand was a small bunch of Cherokee roses bundled up in a pastel blue paper, in the other was a small bottle of wine. He grinned lightly as he stared at her, taking in her beauty in the moonlight.

"You're whistling '_Something'_ now?" she giggled

"Mhmm" Daryl hummed sitting down next to her.

"And you actually cleaned yourself up for once" she laughed sliding her hands into his

Daryl squeezed her hand gently, "Sure did…" he hesitated for a second, "I feel like a jackass though" he muttered.

Carol giggled softly kissing him on the cheek, "It's so perfect down here" she smiled

"I knew it would be empty and private jus' for the two of us" he grinned popping open the bottle of wine.

"Well what's gonna happen?" she smiled glancing up at him, her eyes shining in the light.

Daryl's lips pressed against hers softly, "I don't know" he chuckled, his hand moving to stroke her hair.

Carol tensed up slightly pulling away from him, her hand moved to stroke her own hair softly. All the memories of what the group of men had said to her flooded back to her, she shut her eyes softly trying to stop herself from crying again.

"Those guys were assholes" Daryl said noticing her sudden silence

Carol sniffed, "Like I said earlier you didn't need to do what you did" she breathed

"Yeah I did, they had that shit comin' were lucky all I did was punch one of them" he growled

Carol shook her head sadly, "I'm so used to Ed speaking to me like that it doesn't even matter, most of the things he says are true anyway…" she sighed bending her head.

Daryl stroked her face softly his finger tickling her skin slightly, "What Ed said about ya and what those assholes and my brother said about ya, none of that shit is true. You're an great lady and I am so glad I found ya" he said roughly

Carol smiled a small tear falling from her cheek, "I'm glad I found you too" she said her voice cracking slightly.

"I couldn't stop fallin' in love with you when I met ya" he grinned pulling her into a kiss.

Carol wrapped her arms around his neck and the two fell slowly onto the sand, still kissing. They laid there staring at the sea,

"You're family…the only real one I've had in a while" he said huskily, wrapping his arm over her.

"What about Merle?" she tried not wincing at the mention of his name

Daryl scoffed loudly, "Merle treats me like a joke, wasn't there when my dad started beatin' me he abandoned me and pretended he didn't know it happened he-"

Carol began shushing Daryl quietly as she felt his body tense up, "It's okay Daryl just breathe" she whispered. Daryl exhaled resting his head on her chest.

"I love you so much" she whispered her voice like silk

Daryl chuckled, "I know you do" he slid himself up carefully, pressing his lips against her forehead.

"I could lie with ya forever" Daryl grinned staring at the sea.

"Forever is a long time" she giggled

"I know" he grinned moving his hand to reach for his bag, he pulled out the camera silently,

"One last picture before we get back" he smirked putting his camera to his eyes,

Carol smiled brightly focusing on the camera, her head resting on her knuckle sweetly.

The flash immediately went off and Daryl stared proudly as the photo fell from the camera, she quickly tackled him pulling the camera away from him, holding it to her eyes she yelled "Smile" loudly. Daryl gave her a small smirk as he sat in the sand his legs crossed over each other. As soon as the flash went off, Daryl grabbed her pulling her down to rest on his chest. He pulled the camera from around her neck and raised it above the two of them, the flash went off quickly and the photo flopped down gently to his stomach. He grinned brightly as he stared at the photos.

"I got somethin' else in my bag" he smirked reaching into it.

"What is it?"

Daryl slowly pulled out his long poncho, Carol giggled again at the sight of it,

"Why did you bring that? It's not cold" she smiled stroking the material carefully.

Daryl chuckled quietly, "Not why I brought it down" he smirked raising an eyebrow.

Carol stared at him for a few seconds, confused and then suddenly it hit her, her mouth opened wide in embarrassment and her cheeks began going scarlet.

"You know it's kind of open here…" she giggled hiding her face.

"Kind of romantic, no?" he smiled

Carol smiled softly laughing quietly to herself, she moved her hand out gently to pull Daryl into a strong kiss, the two of them falling to the sand.

It wasn't too long before Carol and Daryl were completely nude and underneath the poncho kissing sensually. Daryl's soft lips pressed against her stomach as he made his way down her body making Carol's head jerk back quickly. She let out a few moans as he licked up and down slowly his tongue tingling, her hands brushed through his hair carefully as her moans begun to get louder and more intense, she pulled his body up slowly staring directly into his eyes. He smiled gently as he moved his lips to attack her neck softly, his hips lining up with hers.

As soon as he entered her Carol's fingers tangled with his, he tickled her fingers gently with each thrust, her other hand tangled with his hair as he stroked her back softly. She opened her mouth with a small gasp as the thrusts began getting faster and faster,

"Oh Daryl" she moaned,

Daryl sat up with Carol still in his arms, she began rocking backwards and forwards as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her face dug into the crook of his neck as she rocked even faster causing Daryl to groan louder, she smiled against his skin as she took in his clean scent. He panted against her skin, bending his head to kiss her breasts lightly.

A few seconds later Daryl was coming, he let out one last moan before falling forward with Carol on top of him, the two of them falling back into the sand panting. They both exchanged small looks, grinning at each other. Daryl pulled the poncho over the two of them falling next to her, he moved his arm to wrap around her as they stared at the light beginning to peak over the sea.

Carol cuddled into him nuzzling herself into his chest, "It's so peaceful down here" she said breathily.

"Why I chose it, fits your personality" he smiled stroking her hair.

She shook her head grinning brightly, "I love you so damn much" she chuckled

"I know" he said kissing her head.

Carol sat up slowly clutching the poncho to her bare body, "We should probably leave before we give someone a surprise" she smiled shyly.

Daryl sat up with her, "Could stay for the night, no one comes down here til about 9am" he smiled

"Okay" Carol yawned laying on her back again.

"An' if someone does come down here…at least they get a good show" he smirked resting with her.

Carol giggled rolling on her side to face him, "Goodnight" she whispered kissing him on the nose

"Night" he grinned

After a few moments of just lying there listening to the crash of the sea, they were both asleep bundled up in each other's arms sleeping peacefully.

…..

Carol woke up the next morning to Daryl's soft lips pressing against her cheek lightly, Daryl was already fully dressed when her eyes flickered open,

"You sleep well?" he asked setting down the bag.

Carol grinned wearily, "Yes…what time is it?" she asked staring at the sea, she could see the sun beginning to rise over it.

"6am, we gotta leave soon if we want to beat Merle and….Ed home" Daryl's fists squeezed as he mentioned his name, the thought of her having to go back to him made him tense.

"Did you already pay?" asked Carol sliding her shirt and underwear on.

"Mhmm" Daryl hummed lighting himself a cigarette,

"Isn't it kind of early for that?" Carol grinned now sliding her shoes on.

Daryl shrugged pulling his camera up from his neck, "Go stand by the sea" he said his words slightly muffled by his cigarette

"Why?" asked Carol folding up the poncho

"End of the weekend, Kind of want one last picture of you" he smirked holding up the camera.

Carol nodded moving towards the sea, her shoes getting slightly wet. She smiled warmly moving her hands to tangle with her hair. Daryl smiled proudly as the flash went off, the picture immediately came out falling into Daryl's hand. Just as he turned to walk away, Carol ran to grab and pull him back to the shore, she grabbed the camera tilting it upwards to face the two of them. Just as she clicked the button on the camera, Daryl pressed his lips against her cheek just in time for the flash causing Carol to blush quickly.

"Love ya" he whispered grinning against her cheek.

Carol pulled him into a strong kiss murmuring, "I know" against his lips.

…

Carol smiled weakly as she took one last look at the glistening sea, she sighed sadly remembering what she was now going home to. Arguments, beatings and a lot of hatred.

Daryl wrapped his arm around her noticing her silence, she nuzzled against his hand softly

"Do you think we'll get the chance to come back here some day?" asked Carol hesitantly

"Yeah, Merle and Ed will probably have a thousand more hunting trips after this and we can leave maybe even bring your lil' girl" he smiled driving away from the view.

"I'd like that" Carol yawned sleepily.

"You still tired?"

Carol nodded wearily, Daryl nodded pulling her closer to him "You can rest on me again for the drive back" he said huskily.

Carol nodded sleepily, "Wake me up a few minutes before we get there" she murmured already beginning to fall asleep again.

Daryl nodded again, "sleep"

After a few moments Carol was asleep resting her head on his chest, he smiled down at her stroking her shoulder lightly, even after weeks and weeks of being with her he still couldn't believe his luck. How he managed to end up with a woman like that was a mystery to him, he grinned moving his hand to brush through her silver hair. When he looked at her it was like he had a second chance to start over from all the bull shit he'd experienced. He was watching her and she was so beautiful, she haunted his thoughts when he was away from her reminding him every second how much he loved her.

She was his future, just looking at her he could tell. And he wasn't going to let anyone take her from him. Because he knew in the end,

_He'd always be fighting for her._


	4. Chapter 4

"If Daryl falls in love with you, he's going to love you for the rest of his life".

— Norman Reedus

(Warning Contains Mature Scenes)

Carol silently took a third sip of her tea before resting her head on the kitchen table again. Ed had, had her slaving in the kitchen all morning forcing her to _"Cook his damn breakfast"_ or _"make him some coffee he's freezing his ass off"_ She sighed tiredly, Ed was making her life hell again. It was beginning to feel unnatural how empty Carol felt those cold winter mornings without Daryl. She hadn't seen Daryl for at least 4 months, since their risky trip to Savannah Ed had been keeping a closer eye on Carol holding her as a prisoner in their home. Every day while Ed took his morning or afternoon nap Daryl would call to speak to her.

He'd usually go on about how much he misses her or how he hates been stuck with his '_Dumbass of a brother'_ all day and every day. They only spent about five minutes every day speaking on the phone but it was always worth it, despite the risk of Ed waking up and hearing her. She sighed again this time taking a giant gulp of her tea, she narrowed her eyes over to Ed snoozing in his chair and glared. All she wanted to do was make him suffer the way he was making her suffer, he was a fucking idiot and all Carol wanted was for him to pay. She shook her head carefully as she took one final sip of her tea and moved to drop it into the sink. Her robe flowed as she walked up the darkened stairs to flop onto her soft bed.

Her eyes shut lightly as her body spread out like an eagle on her bed, God she would give anything to have Daryl back with her. She was going out of her mind thinking about how much she missed his warmth and comfort after a bad day with Ed, which seemed to almost be a daily thing now. Her arms rested on her stomach carefully, the pains were beginning to get worse again. What if she never saw him again?

Suddenly the sound of the phone echoed through the house, Carol immediately sat up and raced down the stairs straight to the phone. Ed groaned sluggishly in his chair as the loud ringing continued. Carol quickly snatched up the phone and pressed it to her cold ear,

"Hello?" she whispered quietly

"Good mornin' beautiful" said Daryl roughly

Carol quickly felt her cheeks go crimson, she slowly picked up the phone and made her way into the backyard with the phone pressed against her cheek,

"Hey, how are you?" she whispered now sliding to the ground, her back pressed against the door.

"I'm workin' the mornin' shift today and I'm freezin' my ass off" growled Daryl.

Carol giggled quietly, "It's cold here too, Ed's being strict on the heating bills the heat only goes on when he's cold" she sighed.

Daryl let out a small annoyed breath, "Keep yourself warm with somethin' like a sweater I don't want you gettin' sick" he muttered

"I'll try to" breathed Carol, turning her head to keep an eye on Ed.

Daryl chuckled gently, "You know I'm missing you like crazy" he breathed, she could hear him suddenly moving the phone, "Kind of wish I had you to keep me warm" he said now in a more hushed tone.

"I know you tell me all the time Daryl" she giggled, "I miss you though…please come back to me soon" she hissed her legs curling in with her arms.

"I'll try to see you when I can…I could try and get Merle to arrange a poker game or somethin'" he said quietly.

Carol sniffed, "Okay" she muttered although she didn't believe him.

"Hey, I will be with you soon trust me" he said hopefully.

Carol nodded, "Okay, I trust you" she sighed forcing the negativity out of her voice.

She could hear Daryl's smile against the phone, "Good, when I see ya I aint gonna let you go" he whispered happily.

Carol chuckled softly, "What if we're in the snow?" she asked playfully.

"Then I'll stand in the snow with you and you'd still keep me warm" he whispered grinning at her playfulness.

Carol's smile widened slowly, "I love you" she sighed.

Daryl chuckled, "I know you do, and I love you so damn much-" Daryl's words were quickly cut off, "Deal with it yourself then!" snapped Daryl angrily. She suddenly heard him let out another annoyed sigh, "I've got to go, Merle's being a pain in the ass" he muttered.

"Are we gonna talk again soon?" asked Carol clutching the phone.

"Course, stay safe" he breathed roughly before putting the phone down.

Carol's eyes narrowed over to Ed as she slowly slid open the backdoor, he was still asleep his snores rumbling through the living room. She sighed disgustedly as she moved to drop the phone back on the table. Her slippers hissed across the smooth floor as she walked back over to the kitchen and rested her head on the table again. Her eyes shut lightly, she missed the rumble of Daryl's motorcycle greeting her every night and the warm touch of his hands exploring her body. She just wished she could escape this damn life with Ed.

As Carol was thinking about heading back upstairs Ed's loud voice boomed across the room, making her jump. She lifted her head sharply to see Ed now sitting up in his chair lazily, his eyes piercing right through her.

"Yes, Ed?" she asked automatically.

He licked his dry lips slowly, "Turn up the damn heat, I'm freezing my balls off" he mumbled groggily.

Carol immediately ran towards the radiator and turned it up slowly, "An' make me some coffee too" he growled scratching his thigh. Carol didn't hesitate, she raced towards the kitchen and began grabbing the coffee from the top shelf. As she stirred the cup quickly she suddenly felt Ed's heavy weight balance on her from behind, his warm breath tickled her neck making her shudder.

"So, who was that you were talkin' to on the phone huh?" he asked moving his hands to wrap around her stomach.

Carol froze for a moment not daring to turn around to look Ed in the eyes, she had no idea he had been awake, she was fucked. She cleared her throat subtly, keeping her eyes concentrated on Ed's cup.

"Nobody important" she said in almost a whisper

Ed smirked for a moment letting out a small pitiful chuckle, his hands sharply moved Carol's hips around so that she was now staring directly into his eyes. He leaned forward carefully not once breaking his stare,

"You and I know for a fact, that that's bullshit" he began, "Tell me who the hell that was or I'll force it out of ya" he said his grip tightening on her waist.

Carol swallowed nervously her cheeks beginning to go red from the force of Ed's hands burning her waist,

"It was Andrea" she lied cautiously.

Ed smirked again, "Andrea huh? You never have to leave the room when you talk to her, what's suddenly so private?" he asked pushing her against the counter.

"Nothing…" Carol whispered.

Ed's hand suddenly slammed the cup off of the counter, making Carol squeal.

"You keepin' secrets now?" he snapped

Carol's hands were now trying to move to hide her terrified face, "I'm not keeping secrets Ed I promise" she squeaked

His hands moved to grab her wrists tightly, he squeezed as he stared at the tears beginning to fall down her face "You're gonna tell me who you were really talkin' to or I'm gonna make this worse" he growled his nose now pressing against her face.

"It was Andrea, Ed I swear" she cried shutting her eyes.

"Tell me" he yelled, his hands were so tight around Carol's wrists she felt like they were about to break.

"Ed please stop, Sophia's asleep upstairs" she cried

"I don't give a shit, you talkin' to other guys now huh? Is that it Carol?" he asked sharply.

Carol shook her head vigorously, "Of Course not Ed I would never do that" she breathed through her tears.

Ed cocked his head slightly to the left, the corners of his mouth rising slowly

"You sure? Cause I know what kind of a bitch you are" he breathed

Carol nodded slowly, "I'm sure Ed, please" she cried

Suddenly Carol's weight dropped as Ed sharply released her letting her hit the ground with a strong force, his hand dug into his pockets as he brought out a cigarette. He lit it silently and stood there for a moment inhaling the smoke, he glanced down at Carol sitting on the floor weakly as she rubbed her scarlet wrists.

"Get this shit cleared up" he muttered before strolling out of the kitchen and into the backyard.

As soon as the door shut Carol cried out, clutching her head ,her body slid down the counter next to the broken cup her body shook while the tears began rushing down her face not being able to stop, her wrists burned when they rubbed against the top of her hair.

"God" she whispered

She had no idea why the hell she was crying, she remembered other mornings where Ed would rant at her and end up breaking something. But this time was different. When she closed her eyes when she cried she expected to be comforted and warmed by Daryl hours later or even minutes later, this time she had nobody to run to when she was broken.

She began to sob all over again.

This was never going to end until she got out and the dream she shared with Daryl of leaving this hell hole was beginning to fade away more and more the longer he was away from her. She felt sore and sick all over again so she slowly got to her knees and began to pick up the pieces of the broken cup from the ground. It wasn't worth having Ed angry at her again to make her feel like shit. She forced her body up shaking and moved towards the bin which now felt like it was miles away.

She tossed the broken pieces of the cup into the bin, not bothed if it made a lot of noise. Sophia had probably heard enough to wake her up by now. She swallowed suddenly remembering to breathe again and slowly dragged herself up the stairs and into her bedroom. All she wanted now was just to sleep again and forget the life she lived. If she could sleep for a thousand years just to get away from Ed she would.

The softness of the bed was a sudden relief; it didn't make her forget everything though. She knew as soon as the backyard door slid open she'd have to go through the same routine again. Her eyes shut softly as she breathed slowly, she was beginning to forget how to with everything that had gone on that morning, although after the past few months she didn't really care if she took another breath or not.

She pressed her face against the softness of one of her pillows and let herself cry into it. Sleepy, she let herself fall into a deep sleep spread out on the bed just praying she could escape this hell for a little bit longer.

…

Carol hadn't realised how long she had slept until she was awoken by the loudness and sharpness of Ed's voice booming from downstairs, her eyes widened when she caught sight of the time on the clock and she quickly scrambled to sprint out of her bedroom, her rope still flowing behind her. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched in horror, Ed's fist tightened around the phone when he yelled into it. His face turning a new shade of crimson, she was completely fucked. That just had to be Daryl on the other line of the end.

She rubbed her wrists, wincing as they still burned at her touch. Her body flinched when Ed slammed the phone on the table, grumbling to himself quietly.

Carol hesitated when she began to approach the table slowly,

"Is everything a…alright?" she asked her voice coming out quieter than she planned.

"Damn electric company want to cut us off, not even my damn fault it's you blowing all my money on the heatin' and the radio" he growled grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling on it.

She stood silently watching, not knowing what to say. That's what she hated most about this life with Ed; you had to be careful about what you said innocent or not he'd still blow steam.

His eyes narrowed over to her, "Useless" he muttered "What the hell you doin' jus' standin' there huh? Bring me some whiskey from the shelf" he demanded sticking his pen in his mouth.

Carol nodded sleepily not bothering this time to rush into the kitchen to scramble for Ed's pleasures he was already too wrapped up in his work to even notice her slow pace around the kitchen. She poured the drink silently and dropped it on the table in front of him; she was so tempted to break it over his hard head. He didn't thank her, even though Carol didn't expect him to anyway. His large hands just pushed the glass to his dry lips as his eyes focused on the pile of papers on the table.

Her hands continued to rub her wrists, which were beginning to show crimson lines going around them. She didn't know what to do with herself, if she walked away there was a high risk Ed would start screaming at her for something she didn't do right. She just stood there, blinking slowly.

"You know Carol, Christmas is only 2 days away" muttered Ed gulping down his drink.

Carol nodded quickly; she had been trained to respond immediately.

"I know"

Ed's finger traced the edges of the glass slowly.

"Then what you doin' jus' standin' there? Get your lazy ass out of the house an' into the store" growled Ed, "Dixon's comin' over this year"

"Which one?" asked Carol a little bit too quickly, her voice sounded shaky and afraid. Ed's eyes narrowed over to her.

"Merle and his lil' brother…Daryl?" said Ed huskily,

Carol nodded carefully trying not to give herself away again; she forced a strong smile which made the corners of her mouth feel like they were going to tear. She already knew this was going to be a horrible disaster and she needed to wake up this had to be just a horrible dream. She must still be asleep upstairs, she hadn't woken up yet.

"Okay, I just needed to know how many I'm cooking for" replied Carol, her voice beginning to sound shapeless.

Ed didn't respond, he made a small grunting noise before standing up to grab another pile of papers to dump on the table, she was glad he was occupied for the moment she didn't know how she would handle another violent outburst from Ed. She was still recovering from the first one.

"I'll just get Sophia ready so we can leave"

Ed didn't respond, he just continued to sit there silently scribbling on the papers furiously. Carol didn't wait for anymore words, she rushed up the stairs to grab her clothes. This might've been the only opportunity Carol had to leave and she wasn't going to waste one minute of it.

…..

Carol's eyes glanced tiredly at the white powder falling from the sky through the window; her fingers traced the handle of the basket as she watched. It had taken a full hour to shop for all of Ed's ridiculous crap. Anger flowed through her veins every time she had even the smallest thought about him, he hadn't let her take the Jeep through the snow towards the store he had forced her and Sophia out of the house into the cold, when Carol opened her mouth to protest he just snapped back at her insisting she could "lose a few pounds" She shook her head tiredly she wasn't in the mood to think about him anymore.

Her tired eyes narrowed down at Sophia who was clutching at her sleeve quietly, she was also staring out at the snow probably sharing the same thought, how the hell were they going to get through all that damn snow?

Her hands squeezed Sophia's softly, a smile planting on her face softly.

"When we get back I'll make hot chocolate for the two of us" grinned Carol taking a few steps further in the queue, "We could try to decorate too, if you want"

Sophia smiled softly quickly glancing at Carol and turning away. Sophia was probably just being polite both of them knew Carol's plans couldn't become a reality or at least a good one. Not with him there to ruin everything for them with hateful words and violence.

"We will Sophia, I promise" said Carol trying to convince herself as well as Sophia.

Sophia nodded again not bothering to smile this time. Carol slipped her arm around Sophia's shoulder gently, squeezing her against her body. Sophia always got quiet around this time of the year, the happiest she had ever seen Sophia on Christmas was when she was four. That was the one Christmas Sophia had spent without Ed around to ruin things.

_"You gonna act like a bitch huh? Hope the bitch like spendin' Christmas alone with that damn kid!"_

She still had the scar from where Ed had beaten her before he had stormed off after a drunken argument in the early morning. Carol had spent most of the morning stitching herself up with disinfectant, a needle and a lot of painkillers. By the time Sophia had been born she was an expert in patching herself up when Ed had refused to let her get help. Carol still remembered the pain when she first began cleaning it, the blood had gotten all over the sink and she was nearly at the point of screaming after the first few stitches.

Sophia had walked in on her by the time the last stitch was done, she had crept up on her without warning and Carol had to immediately endure the pain as Sophia cradled against the doorframe, she remembered stammering trying to think of an explanation to give Sophia but she couldn't think of any, all she did was force a painful smile and lead her downstairs. They had spent the rest of the day unwrapping presents, playing in the snow and watching old Christmas movies.

Her heart began to swell at the memory. She had never seen Sophia happier, and sadly she never did again.

"Next please"

Carol's regretful frown quickly turned into a smile when she finally reached the front of the line to see the grinning face of **'Jacqui**' the woman she had spoken to the night she found Daryl.

"Hello" she grinned moving to the corner of the counter to collect her bags,

"You're looking good, you look like a different woman"

Carol blushed shyly at the compliment; "I've…developed since the last time I saw you" she smiled pulling her money out from her purse.

"Did you hit him with a frying pan like I said?" chuckled Jacqui taking in Carol's money.

"I never got the chance" sighed Carol half laughing.

Carol's hands scrambled for the tons of plastic bags, Jacqui's eyes narrowed down at Carol as her legs shook while she struggled.

"Looks like he's got you busy then…"

Carol bent her head embarrassed although Jacqui joked with her and praised her for looking so different and strong. She knew she could still see how weak and powerless she was against Ed, he still twisted her around his fat finger.

"We've got company this year" breathed Carol balancing the bags against her body, she let out a small nervous laugh trying to brush off tension from their conversation.

Jacqui raised an eyebrow; her hands were already busy with another customer's shopping while she watched Carol leave the store.

"Merry Christmas" called Jacqui before turning away.

The snow hit Carol like a bulldozer as soon as she attempted to open the store door she was immediately pushed back making her gasp for air.

_God dammit Ed_ She thought to herself angrily, _Why the hell couldn't you have just let us take the Jeep?_ Tired of just standing in the cold, Carol pushed herself through the blurry blizzard trying to find a way home without them dying.

Suddenly she felt something solid bump into her body, she fell to the ground with a loud thump as the shopping spread out across the icy road. She groaned weakly moving her hands around trying to find what had knocked her down. A cold hand moved through the frosty snow, the hand gripped onto hers tightly and pulled her up quickly before she could even blink.

"Thank-"

The grinning face of Merle Dixon moved through the snow, Carol's heart stopped for a few seconds. She wondered if it would ever start up again. She was frozen in her spot unable to move her lips, she loathed Merle but at the same time she was so afraid of him.

"Well, Well lil' Darlin' what do we have here?" he chuckled, his other hand was resting on Sophia's shoulder gently.

"We were just leaving" muttered Carol her hands scrambling to pick up the loose bags on the ground.

"Hold on a minute, there's a much bigger storm comin' you know. You should probably get in with me I've got a ride" Grinned Merle pointing at his old red truck.

Carol grimaced at his smile, there was no way she was going to trust him. After all the hell he put her through why should she? She shook her head again ignoring Merle's welcoming hand when he thrust it towards her.

"What 'bout your lil' girl huh? You want her walkin' in this storm?" he asked moving his hands to his hips.

Carol narrowed her eyes over to Sophia, who was shivering silently in the cold watching their whole conversation. She disappointedly gave in.

"Well hop in then" chuckled Merle opening the doors to his truck, Carol was about to climb in the back of the truck with Sophia when Merle's large hand slammed the door in front of her, his smile was bright but his eyes were dark.

"Why don't ya ride in the front with me? Huh?" he asked grinning.

Carol didn't respond she just nodded silently and slid into the seat next to Merle, her fingers began to nervously tap on her thigh as soon as he took off down the icy road. What the hell was she doing in his truck? What was he playing at? This was totally out of the ordinary for Merle Dixon to be acting this kind. Maybe he had hit his head at the bar near the store and had, had an epiphany or maybe his heart _just grew three sizes_ just in time for the holidays. However, no matter what had caused Merle to have a sudden change of heart she knew she wasn't going to trust him for one second.

"You know Carol, I haven't seen ya for a while you've been like a ghost" said Merle gruffly as he took a sharp turn down the street.

"I've just been keeping quiet the last few months" breathed Carol keeping her eyes down at her fingers.

"Really? Why's that?" he asked, his hand reached forward into the glove compartment and he pulled out a small bottle of whiskey. The same brand Ed usually drank. Carol swallowed nervously as she watched him press the bottle to his dry lips.

"Sophia's been back at school, I've just been helping her and doing stuff around the house" her voice beginning to feel weak, she was beginning to feel sick with all the questions coming at her from Merle. None of this was a good sign.

"Is that right?" he smiled taking another gulp from the bottle, Carol shifted nervously in her seat. Merle wasn't paying any attention to the road, all of his attention was focused on her and she didn't like it at all. She was so close to opening the door and taking her chances in the snow with Sophia instead.

"You sure it aint any other reason?" he asked stopping at the traffic lights. Carol nodded her head, mouthing the words _I'm sure_ to him.

"Is it because you stopped fucking my brother?" he asked now putting the bottle down. Carol's head turned sharply to the back of the truck.

"Sophia, cover your ears" she hissed quickly. Sophia's hands covered her ears swiftly as Carol snapped her head around to glare at Merle again.

"It ended months ago Merle, you know that" she muttered narrowing her eyes back down at her hands.

"No, I don't know that" the gruffness was beginning to get heavier in his voice, "I think you're bullshitting me" he turned his head to glare at her a small smile appearing on his face. "Cause you know sometimes I still think I can smell the stench of _your_ perfume on his clothes"

Carol suddenly felt a sharp pain in her thigh, she hadn't realised her nails had been digging into her thigh the past few moments. She swallowed nervously.

"I want to get out Merle, let me out" she growled.

"Why? Unless you got somethin' to hide?"

"No!" the anger rose in Carol's voice, "You're making me uncomfortable and I want to leave, now" snapped Carol.

Merle smiled pityingly.

"Whatever calm your tits, we're near your place anyway" he shrugged driving down the street at now a slower speed.

Carol nodded remaining silent for the rest of the drive, Merle was a cruel man but he wasn't stupid. They both knew exactly what was going on between her and Daryl. Her hand rested on her forehead gently, God she shouldn't have snapped like that? What if Merle decided to spill everything about what went on or what was still going on between her and Daryl?

Her eyes narrowed over to Merle slowly, she shook her head. He wouldn't do that to Daryl he told her exactly himself that he wants Daryl to still be breathing next year. Would he really risk his brother just to prove what a _whore_ she was? Maybe he would just lie through his teeth to Ed, and convince him that she seduced him.

Merle pulled up in front of Carol's house sharply, making her smack her head on the window. She let out a small groan before turning to Sophia and signalling her to get out of the truck. Just as she opened the door Merle's cold hand gripped her sharply making her let out a small yelp.

Merle's cold eyes pierced into her as he dug his nail into her wrist.

"You stay away from Daryl, you understand me? Don't talk to him and don't even look at him when we come over yours" he spat furiously, "I know you won't be able to keep your damn panties on when he's around"

"Let go of me" she muttered pulling at her wrist.

Merle obeyed letting her slip away from his grip, she quickly gathered her bags from the seat and slammed the door. Walking away from Merle as quickly as she could.

"See ya in too days" he called before speeding off down the street.

Sophia stood in the snow silently, her head was down as she shivered in the snow.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that" Carol whispered turning the key in the keyhole.

Sophia shrugged.

"I like Daryl better anyway, he took us to the park. Daddy never takes us to the park" she muttered walking through the door.

Carol nodded pushing the door open, her breath of relief quickly turned to a sigh of disgust. Ed was sprawled out in his chair snoozing with everything exposed. How the hell could he be wearing a vest in this weather? Then again it was only him experiencing heat while the two of them were left to freeze.

"Put your clothes upstairs I'll make us some hot chocolate" smiled Carol.

Sophia nodded and quickly disappeared upstairs leaving Carol to stand silently in the living room, she tossed her boots and coat over into the corner not bothered whether or not Ed heard her. He usually pretended to be asleep anyway to avoid having to talk to her.

Carol began to unpack the bags slowly as the kettle boiled behind her, she felt sick. Her head was still filling with worries about Merle. She probably had pissed him off with the way she acted. She rested her head on the counter for a few moments, the coldness of the counter made her feel good but it didn't make her feel good enough to not want to run away. Maybe everything that was suddenly happening was the world's way of punishing her. Maybe she deserved it.

The shrill sound of the kettle was too loud for her to ignore, Carol forced her head up and moved to pour the boiling water into the two cups of coca. Sophia sprinted down the stairs enthusiastically at the sound of the two cups being set at the table. Carol laughed quietly at Sophia's eagerness for the drink. Even though Sophia hardly showed it, she could tell small Christmas traditions like this made her happy.

Carol stirred her drink silently as her eyes inspected the dull room.

"It's nice to be able to brighten up this room a little bit" smiled Carol taking a strong sip.

"Do you think daddy will like it?" Sophia asked cautiously.

"It doesn't matter" muttered Carol kissing the top of Sophia's head.

"Could we decorate before…he wakes up?" asked Sophia narrowing her eyes over to Ed sleeping.

Carol opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it again, turning it into a forced smile. Both of them knew if they wanted to decorate they'd have to wait until Ed was asleep. They knew he'd complain about that 'crap being put up in his house'. Carol grabbed the tinsel from the box and slowly began twirling the gold decoration around the tree.

Sophia danced happily around the tree for half an hour, her hair flowing each time she twirled. Sophia made sure every little detail around the living room was perfect. After an hour had passed almost the entire living room was covered in Christmas decorations. Carol's arm rested around Sophia's shoulder as she ran her fingers through her hair, they both smiled proudly at the room. Sophia's took a small sip of her hot chocolate as she stared.

"It's going to be a good Christmas, I promise you" uttered Carol staring at the twinkling lights around the TV, "The tree looks beautiful"

Sophia shifted slightly beneath her arm.

"Are you sure Daddy won't mind it?" asked Sophia gently.

"It doesn't matter, what's done is done" breathed Carol shaking her head. She couldn't give two shits if Ed didn't like it, that had been the first time in a long time since Carol had seen Sophia happy and she wasn't going to let her bastard of a husband ruin that for her.

Suddenly Ed's loud yawn filled the room, his breath of tiredness echoing through the room.

"That so?" Ed was now sitting up in his old chair, his tired eyes glaring in the direction of Carol and Sophia.

"Sophia, get upstairs right now" hissed Carol, she pushed her hurriedly in the direction of the door.

Ed's large body slid itself off of the chair, he stood up sharply his eyes inspecting the lit room. His hands reached toward a small dangling Angel Sophia had made, he crushed it letting it fall to the floor and crumple.

"What the hell is this crap?" he spat

Carol's feet were as twisted as her stomach, she was struggling for words.

"S-Sophia wanted to decorate this year…" she stammered

"It looks like shit!" he roared

Ed's hands moved sharply to suddenly attack the tinsel on the wall. Then suddenly,

_Crash_

Down went the tree.

Carol stared in horror as she watched Ed tear down every single last piece of the decorations surrounding the living room. By the time Carol had remembered to breathe, everything was in ruins on the floor. Ed panted his body shaking, and his face almost red.

"Who are you to speak for me huh? "He yelled digging on finger into her chest.

"I J-just wanted to keep Sophia happy, I'm sorry" she whispered narrowing her eyes down at the ground

Ed's bright eyes glared at her.

"I've got people comin' over what the hell d'you think they'll think if they see this prissy shit?" he growled. He swallowed a few times before removing his finger from Carol's chest.

"Get this shit cleaned up now, I'm goin' to Merle's" muttered Ed before stomping out of the house.

For the first few minutes after Ed had left, Carol sat on the floor motionless. Her body had sunken to the ground almost as soon as the door slammed shut and she had been on her knees just staring at the wreck in front of her. Her mouth trembled along with her fingers, tears fell from her eyes but she never bothered to wipe them away. What was the point? They were never going to stop. Sophia had come down the stairs to inspect the wreck not saying a word before making her way back up the stairs. It was supposed to be a good Christmas, she had tried hadn't she? This year she had bothered to make an effort and Ed had fucked it all up again. Maybe he didn't do these things because he thought he was right, maybe he just did them because he was evil.

Carol narrowed her eyes over to the window.

The snow was beginning to come down a lot faster and heavier. She shut her eyes gently, her mouth still half open.

"God, Ed deserves to be punished…it's a sin to ask for you to punish him but…" he words trembled slightly, "Just kill him….kill him" whispered Carol the tears flooded down her face. Her stomach squeezed tightly, she was a terrible person.

Suddenly in the same moment, the shrill sound of the phone rang echoed through the house. Carol moved her head to lay it on the ground, her hands dug into her hair trying to ignore the phone but it was too loud to ignore. Carol forced herself up from the ground, her hand struggling to grab the phone and press it to her ear.

"Hello?" her voice was sore and groggy, she wiped her tears away gently with her hand.

"Carol!" Daryl's voice sounded frantic, "You okay?" he asked she could hear the worry in his voice.

"W-what's the matter?" asked Carol ignoring his question.

"Your bastard husband's here, he was jus' talkin' about teaching you a lesson" Daryl's hands played with the phone desperately, "Are you okay?" he asked repeating his question.

"Oh you know, Ed just tore down all the decorations me and Sophia put up…everything's in ruins..." sniffed Carol sliding herself down the wall, the phone still pressed against her ear.

"God Damn…was it in front of Sophia?" he asked huskily.

"No. I made sure she went upstairs…but she saw the aftermath…"

"I ought to sock him in his mouth right now" snapped Daryl the anger rose in his voice.

"Don't do that…"

Daryl's disappointed sigh filled the other side of the line.

"Do you want me to come over?" he asked lowering his voice.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Merle might get suspicious…" breathed Carol, it pained her to say no to Daryl keeping her company, but she had to keep both of them safe.

"Fuck him, I couldn't give a damn if he could hear us talking right now" The anger rose in Daryl's voice again.

"Daryl…" began Carol lightly playing with her blouse.

"Nah Carol, I'm comin' to see you…I'm goin' insane without you and I need to know you're okay"

"I'm fine Daryl, I promise" she reassured him.

"I'll only stay a few minutes"

Carol hesitated for a moment, the phone still pressed against her ear as she decided whether or not she wanted to risk both of their safety. She let out a small sigh.

"Okay, but _only_ a few minutes…" she breathed.

"Alright", there was a sudden smile in Daryl's voice. "I'll come up in the truck, seems like Ed's gonna be here a while"

Carol smiled gently against the phone; she could feel herself beginning to blush

"I love you" she uttered

Daryl chuckled lightly, she could hear the crack of the phone as he moved it.

"I know you do, I love you too" he muttered, "I'll see you in a bit"

The line went dead.

Carol's body suddenly relaxed, she let out a few breaths before forcing herself up from the ground. Her body swayed as she threw herself into Ed's large, old chair. She suddenly had a rush of feelings that everything was going to be okay, she had Daryl again and he was going to protect her. One day they'd be away from this place and all the worries would be over. Carol shut her eyes slowly letting herself drift into a calm sleep.

_Carol's hands tangled with Daryl's, both of their bodies being dragged away from each other. There was nothing she could do he had him and he wasn't letting him go._

_"You think you can screw with my woman and get away with it?" Ed's voice boomed right through her._

_She let out a few cries when Daryl let out loud groans of pain with each blow Ed had given him. When she finally was able to touch him, he didn't move. She expected to feel his pulse but instead felt blood._

Carol woke up with a cry, her heart racing and her eyes wet. She swallowed deeply when she heard the sudden roar of Daryl's truck. She buried her head in her knees rocking backwards and forwards slowly.

"It was just a dream" she kept repeating frantically.

There was a loud bang when the engine stopped, she raced quickly out of the living room not hesitating once. The first thing Carol saw when she opened the door was the wide bright smile of Daryl, his eyes gleaming with happiness. She ran and didn't stop even when her bare feet hit the cold snow. Her arms wrapped around his neck pulling his face against hers, his stubble ticked her face but she didn't care. Daryl's strong arms wrapped around her waist, he swung her around gently his face nuzzling into her neck, he breathed in her warm scent. He could feel her crying against him.

He smiled.

"I'm here now I aint goin' nowehere" he breathed clutching her to his body.

"Don't you dare leave me ever again…" she cried shakily against his neck.

Daryl chuckled huskily.

"I won't I'm here…"

"_Promise_ me you'll stay safe" she sniffed pulling away from him.

"I'll stay safe…for you" he breathed his hands slowly made their way up and down her body, he was trying to warm her up. She was freezing, "C'mon let's get inside or you'll catch something" he laughed. He removed his winged jacket from himself and covered her gently with it.

Carol warmed up to the jacket immediately, it smelled like him.

"Son of a bitch" Daryl rasped, he glared at the mess his hands suddenly were clenched into fists. "Why the hell did he tear it down?" he asked angrily.

Carol narrowed her eyes while raising one eyebrow, was he being serious asking that question? Daryl caught her look and quickly scratched the back of his head while shaking it.

"That was a stupid question" he chuckled, his face still going red.

Carol smiled gently while resting on hand on his shoulder.

"It wasn't…he just tore it down because he thought it looked like shit "she hesitated for a moment And because you and Merle were coming over on Christmas"

Daryl nodded his finger circled the tiny dimple in her back, his eyes narrowed around the room slowly before he turned his head to look up at the stairs. She did wonder what went through his head, almost everything he did surprised her.

"Say, does Ed ever go up to Sophia's room?" he asked glancing back down at her.

"No, I don't let him" she whispered beginning to remove Daryl's jacket from her shoulders.

Daryl nodded silently and detached himself from Carol's side, he quickly began gathering the lights and tinsel into his strong arms, he slowly made his way up the stairs. Carol stared confused, what the hell was he doing? Carol followed him up the stairs quickly to see him standing in the doorway and speaking to Sophia, after a few moments of mumbles Sophia ran out of her room and down the stairs confusing Carol even more.

She watched quietly as Daryl removed his shoes and stood on Sophia's bed, his boxers exposing while he stretched to tape some tinsel to her wall.

"What are you doing?"

Daryl turned around, half of the tape was in his mouth.

"Doing her a favour" he murmured his words muffled.

Carol rested her body against the door frame, she squinted her eyes slightly as she continued to watch him.

"Why?"

"I figured her room could use a lil' brightening, I aint gonna let Ed ruin your little girl's Christmas" he said moving his hand to grab another piece of tinsel.

Carol moved away from the doorframe and stood directly behind Daryl, her hand traced his leg gently.

"Thank you" she whispered

Daryl shrugged; he bent down carefully and began walking sideways on her bed as he rested the Christmas lights across her shelf. She wished she had met him before Ed, God knows she would've been much happier. Sophia wouldn't be so shut out and all those years of pain and depression would've never happened. If she had met Daryl first they could be living in the countryside living a small simple normal life. No secrets and No fear.

"You know, when we live together you and Sophia can decorate the bathroom if you want I won't care" he muttered plugging in the lights.

Carol got on her tiptoes gradually and wrapped her arms around his waist sensually, her lips pressed against his back.

"That's sweet, thank you" she murmured.

"The least I can do, I care about you and Sophia" he breathed sticking a few more stringy pieces of tinsel on her shelf.

"Daryl, get off Sophia's bed for a second" Carol hummed removing her arms from around his waist.

When Daryl got off of the bed he was quickly taken back by the roughness and passion of Carol's kiss, but quickly got into it making a few small approving sounds when he wrapped his hands around her waist.

"I missed you so damn much" breathed Carol through the kiss; she could feel Daryl's hands soothing her gently.

"Girl, I missed you too" he chuckled breathily against her lips.

"We're gonna have to be careful on Christmas day, Merle or Ed might catch a look" she giggled, she ran her hands through his hair gently.

"Then we can hop in the truck, drive and never come back" he muttered his hands making their way down to her rear.

Carol pulled away gently; she stared into his eyes her face began to warm up. It had been a really long time since she had properly looked at him and he was still beautiful.

"What about the money?" she smiled, her finger stroked his cheek softly.

Before he could answer Sophia's gasp filled the room as she stared at the lights covering the wall.

"This is all for you little girl, you like it?" he asked taking a small step towards Sophia.

Sophia jumped onto her bed, spreading her arms out widely. She sat up grinning at him brightly.

"I love it, thank you"

"Not a big deal, thought I'd just help you and ya mom out" he grinned turning to look at Carol.

Carol lingered watching the two of them interacting, she liked it. Sophia got on more with Daryl than she did with Ed, she was afraid of Ed. He was cruel and evil but Daryl was kind and loved him for that.

"Hey, we'll leave you to enjoy it" grinned Carol, her hand slipped into Daryl's carefully before walking out with him down to the living room.

Once they wandered into the living room they both stared silently at the mess on the floor, Carol rested her head slightly on Daryl's shoulder not saying a word.

"You want to make an attempt on the tree?" he asked cautiously

Carol sighed as Daryl's arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Ed might tear it down again…" she muttered, why was he even asking? They both knew it was a terrible idea to try to bring a little bit of happiness into the house.

"C'mon I'll do…_minor _ decorating with you so it's not too shitty for him" he rasped.

Carol nodded silently and Daryl was quickly gone from her side almost making Carol fall sideways. He grabbed the tree and hurled it up letting out a few groans as it scratched his hand but he didn't seem to mind too much. As soon as the tree was up Daryl was already moving around the tree picking up broken decorations and hanging them on the tree. He had a bright smile on his face as he stuck them, this must've been his first year decorating.

"So, how have you been doing?" asked Carol while she got on her tiptoes to stick a wise man near the top.

Daryl made small mocking noise while he bent down to grab another decoration from the ground.

"Badly" he muttered

"Why?"

"Merle's been givin' me hell" he breathed, knocking down one of the angels. "Dammit" he mumbled under his breath.

"Why's that?" she asked nervously, could he have been giving Daryl hell over her?

"He keeps sayin' I aint workin' hard enough and jus' calls me useless…I know I am but still…" he said gruffly.

Carol put down her decorations and quickly moved to wrap her arms around Daryl gently, why did he think so little of himself? God she loved him he wasn't useless at all he was so wonderful and she wished desperately that he could realise that.

"That's stupid" she hummed against his ear

Daryl shrugged ignoring her reassurance, his hands continued to play with a broken angel decoration trying desperately to fix it.

"So, uh, how've you been?" he asked beginning to get frustrated as the angel wouldn't piece back together.

Carol sighed deeply.

"Ed's just been…Ed."

"He been hurtin' you?" he muttered

"He hasn't hurt me too badly…in the last few months just a few bruises"

Daryl's anger quickly built up, he through the angel to the ground furiously.

"Damn thing won't fix" he snapped making Carol jump.

"Daryl…" Carol began

"Let me see em'" demanded Daryl his hand smoothed against her body carefully.

Carol nodded silently and lifted up her sleeve carefully. Daryl's eyes grew bigger and his breath became shaky while he stared at the fading black marks on her skin. His fingers traced against them softly as if he was afraid he was going to hurt her more than Ed. He shut his eyes, his head moved downwards trying to avoid looking at them, it was like he was in pain.

"L-let me put something on it" he stammered trying to help her up, towards the kitchen.

Carol rested her other hand on Daryl's soft grip on her arm, he looked up sadly as she squeezed it gently. She flashed a small reassuring smile.

"They're months old Daryl and they're fading it's okay…it's okay" she whispered

Daryl shook his head, his arms quickly pulled her into a hug. He squeezed her gently as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's never fuckin' okay It'll be over soon.." he muttered against her.

"I know it will be Daryl, I trust you" she purred against his neck, "Let's just put the angel on the tree"

Daryl nodded unsure but quickly released her and moved back to the tree, but this time not as eager before. Daryl balanced the small Angel dressed in red and gold on the palm of his hand, he moved it in front of Carol's face letting her get a good look at it.

"You wanna put it on top?" he asked

"Sure, I'll get a ladder-"

Carol's words were quickly cut off as Daryl picked her up swiftly with one arm, making her let out a small yelp of surprise. She delicately took the angel from Daryl's palm and balanced it on top of the tree making it officially complete. Daryl slowly let her down but didn't let her go too quickly, his arms wrapped around her waist gently while his lips pressed against hers. His stubble rubbed against her skin.

"You're my angel, you know that?" he growled quietly. "Had nothin' but good luck since I've been with you"

"Well that makes you my knight" she giggled returning a quick peck against his mouth.

He chuckled lightly while his fingers brushed through her hair gently.

"I should probably go" he muttered pulling away from her.

Carol's hand quickly grabbed Daryl's arm, the sharpness and speed of how she had done it surprised her, maybe one side of her knew if he left now it might be a while until she can spend time with him without the watchful eye of Merle or Ed.

"Don't go" she whispered

Daryl's hands carefully cupped the bottom of her jaw, his fingers traced up and down her cheeks slowly.

"I'll be back in 2 days and I'll call you tomorrow to make sure you're okay" he grinned reassuringly, he pressed his lips gently against her forehead and let his hands drop back down to his sides.

Carol smiled weakly before picking up his winged jacket from the chair,

"I'll walk you out" she whispered trying not to let her voice crack.

Daryl wrapped his arm around her while he walked her out, they both moved to the door not saying one word. Carol was nervous, she was so nervous everything was going to go badly. Even though Daryl had reassured her everything was going to be okay, she could see in his eyes he didn't even believe it.

"Stay safe" he said roughly, his hands cupped her waist one last time as he kissed her. Before Carol knew it, Daryl was already climbing into his truck ready to drive away. She waved quietly trying to force a smile. When the truck was finally out of the drive way Carol's smile dropped quickly, she was finally able to breathe normally.

Her face ached when she slid herself onto the ground.

She had no idea how she'd be able to force another smile like that for an entire dinner.

…

Two days had passed and they had been like hell on Earth for Carol. On Christmas Eve she spent half of the day getting the last of the food for the dinner and the other half of the day slaving away in the kitchen, not getting one break. If she had attempted to take a break, Ed would through her a threatening look warning her to get back inside the kitchen. She never even got a chance to say goodnight to Sophia or wrap her presents but she didn't think she cared very much. She had been quiet. On Christmas morning Carol hadn't even gotten a chance to wake up properly before Ed was shoving her out of her warm bed and into the living room, she cooked, she cleaned and went shopping again if she didn't have anything to match Ed's stupid tastes.

She felt weak and guilty. Sophia had spent the entire day alone in her room with her presents. By the time the sun was beginning to go down and the time got nearer for Daryl and Merle to arrive Carol made a choice. She was grateful, Lori had agreed to take care of Sophia in case anything went wrong. Which Carol knew it would.

Carol sighed gently as she slid her cardigan on, she stared at herself in the mirror while she applied a tiny bit of red lipstick across her lips. She smiled warmly, the only highlight of Christmas was at least she could look nice for once. She turned her eyes towards the clock.

_7:32_

Daryl and Merle should've been arriving soon.

"You look like you're trying to impress someone" smirked Ed standing in the doorway.

Carol jumped quickly, clutching her heart. How long had he been standing there watching her?

"I'm just trying to look nice this year" she smiled forcefully, she hated smiling for him. He didn't deserve any form of kindness.

"Why, only difference is there's other men in this house" said Ed, his smile beginning to grow wider as he made his way towards her.

"No reason-"

Before Carol could finish her sentence, Ed's lips were already pushed against hers roughly. His hands worked their way up and down her body, making her extremely uncomfortable. His fingers played with her bra roughly as he tried to pull it off.

"Ed, Stop it. Not now" she hissed trying to push him away but he wouldn't give.

Her arms pushed out in front of her gently as she wriggled away from his grip. As soon as she was free from his heavy body, his hand quickly grabbed her cardigan making it rip slightly.

"You tryin' to whore off to one of the Dixons?" he snapped furiously.

"I-I don't I just want to look nice. That's all" she squeaked terrified.

"That's bullshit" he spat, his hands gripped her cardigan tighter, "Take all this shit off and wear somethin' I bought ya and take off that damn lipstick. Looks ridiculous" he snapped

Carol nodded silently trying not to look Ed in the eyes.

"You aint worth nothin'" he muttered finally letting go of her. "Be down in 5 minutes" he growled before exiting the room.

Carol sat on the bed gently, her head still nodding even though there was nobody there to see her agreeing stupidly. After sitting there blankly for a few moments, Carol slowly got up and began stripping down for the second time; she had a damp tissue in one hand and began wiping her mouth roughly trying to get rid of the red. She slipped on the plain clothes Ed had left and marched down the stairs not saying a word. She didn't think she could say anything else.

Almost immediately after she had begun setting up the table, she heard the loud roar of Daryl's truck and her heart skipped a beat. She glanced through the window and watched as Daryl and Merle jumped out of the truck and into the snow. A large grin planted on her face, she couldn't help it. The sound of Daryl's truck just made her happy, because it was a reminder that he was there.

Carol was immediately disgusted to see Merle when he banged on the door. His arm was hanging off the doorframe and he smiled coldly at her, his breath already stank of alcohol.

"Hey there mouse" he breathed ruffling her head roughly.

"Uh, Hello Merle" she gritted through her teeth.

Daryl followed behind him silently flashing a quick smile to Carol before shutting the door behind him he was wearing his winged jacket and had a large bag on his shoulder, _why the hell did he bring that? _She thought curiously. The living room was suddenly full of noise as Merle and Ed greeted each other loudly, this arms hitting each other on the back.

"Ah, you brought the good stuff" grinned Ed snatching it from Merle's fist.

"Yeah, but the dumbass drank some of it on the way here" grimaced Daryl

Carol stood in the corner of the room silently, her hands played nervously with her shirt. She didn't know where to fit herself into this conversation. Ed's eyes narrowed over to her sharply as she just stood there.

"Well, what you doin' just standin' there? Keep setting up" growled Ed snappishly.

Carol didn't hesitate she quickly ran into the kitchen not saying one word in defence. Everything had to go okay tonight.

"You know, the place looks good Ed" said Daryl looking around, he felt slightly proud.

Ed scoffed loudly enough for Carol to hear him.

"Good? It looks like Shit, Carol thought it'd be a good idea to decorate. Dumb bitch" he snarled.

Daryl shrugged silently; he was ready to kick his ass already.

"You mind if I get some glasses from the kitchen? I'm dying for a damn drink" he chuckled

Ed threw his hands up slowly, signalling Daryl to stay where he is.

"Jus' let Carol do it, it's her job" he breathed, letting out a small belch.

Daryl's teeth gritted slightly as his fists began to tighten.

"She's bringin' in the food right? I want somethin' to drink now so I'll bring in the glasses to make it faster" he said gruffly.

"Whatever man" sighed Ed not bothered.

Daryl quickly walked into the kitchen and crouched down next to Carol in the cupboard, she was gathering plates shakily and silently. He smoothed in his hand over hers gently trying to give her comfort.

"How you doin'?" he asked balancing the four glasses in his hand.

"You know…" Carol sighed resting the plates on top of her thighs.

"If this asshole does anything to piss me off I'm knocking him out, jus' so you know" growled Daryl quietly.

Carol rested her arm gently on Daryl's, she didn't want any violence tonight. All she wanted was a nice Christmas dinner with the man she loves and that was it.

"Don't cause a scene please, I don't want you hurt" she whispered

"What the hell is takin' so long Derlena? We want a drink!" boomed Merle loudly.

Daryl sighed before standing up quickly,

"Fine" he muttered as he exited the kitchen with the glasses.

After a few moments of mixed discussions in the living room, Carol entered steadily with the food presented neatly on each of the plates. She laid them on the table gently carefully trying not to knock anything over. Daryl slapped his hands together joyfully as he stared at the dishes.

"Smells good" he chuckled moving to sit at the table quickly.

"Good thing she can cook, she aint much to look at" laughed Ed cruelly as he stomped into his seat.

Daryl clenched his fists tightly, narrowing his eyes over to Carol. She gave a small disproving shake and sat down next to Ed at the table.

"So how's business at the mechanics?" asked Ed, his mouth full of turkey already.

"Alright, except Derlena is a lazy son of a bitch" breathed Merle glaring at him.

"I know what that's like" chuckled Ed nudging Carol a few times.

Daryl jabbed his knife into his turkey sharply and took a large bite not bothering to break his glare from Ed. Carol was beginning to get worried he was going to explode.

"She aint lazy, she cooked all this damn shit. What the hell did you do?" snapped Daryl angrily.

Carol held her breath trying to edge herself away from Ed subtly.

"I wasn't talkin' to you boy" snarled Ed quietly.

Merle moved his arm over to Daryl's side quickly and slapped him on the back.

"Yeah baby brother, shut ya mouth" he hissed

Daryl shrugged aggressively taking a giant sip of wine, he poured himself another glass quickly as he watched Ed open his mouth to speak again. Carol's hands were beginning to dig into her thigh she wasn't going to survive this night at all.

"You been seein' any girls lately?"

"Yeah, one every night" Merle chuckled

"What type?" asked Ed beginning to lean into him.

"Young, redhead, big tits" smirked Merle proudly. Carol turned her head disgusted she was so glad she had sent Sophia to Lori's for the night.

Ed slapped Merle's leg joyfully letting out a few chuckles and approving looks.

"Lucky man, I'm just stuck here with this broad" he laughed

Carol lowered her head slowly; she was embarrassed she wished Ed didn't treat her like this. She had the worst sense of self-worth and he didn't make it any better.

"So, Daryl you seein' anyone?" he asked

"Nah"

Ed chuckled loudly while taking a large sip of wine, making Carol feel slightly cautious. She knew if he drank she'd get the worse of his intoxication.

"Shame I can picture you with a beautiful woman, probably do anything you say" he smirked beginning to stare at his empty glass, "Carol go get some more wine from the kitchen gonna be a long night"

"Yes Ed" Carol whispered as she slid out of her seat and towards the kitchen. Her hands scrambled through the cabinet until she had found the bottle. She pulled it out gently and suddenly felt a small smile form on her face, it was one of the bottles her and Daryl had drunk from. She felt happy from finding this but at the same time her stomach twisted, she didn't want Merle and Ed drinking from the same bottle. It was theirs.

"Carol! What's takin' you so damn long?" shouted Ed.

Carol shook her head sadly and returned to the living room holding the bottle delicately. She turned her head to see Daryl grinning at her subtly, she could tell he could remember the bottle as well and that he was fighting not to smile wider. She returned the smile quickly as she began trying to open it.

"What the hell you smilin' at?" asked Ed snappishly, "Pour the glasses"

Carol nodded silently, her smile fading quickly. She moved over to Merle first to begin pouring the red liquid into his glass.

"Thanks mouse" smirked Ed snatching his glass away. Carol had such an urge to break the bottle over his head, but she couldn't. The bottle was too special to her and she didn't want to cause problems.

"You should come over here more, play some poker or somethin' maybe I'd beat your ass better" chuckled Ed tapping on his glass as Carol made her way over to Daryl's glass.

Daryl stroked her finger gently as she poured it into his glass, mouthing 'thank you' before she finally got to Ed's glass. She kept her eyes focused on Daryl the whole time she poured, she didn't even notice when the glass started to overflow. Ed suddenly grabbed her wrist sharply trying make her stop pouring. She jumped immediately and dropped the glass on the ground letting it smash to pieces.

Her heart stopped.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" he yelled angrily.

Carol was already on the floor trying to wipe the ground with some cloth that had been in her back pocket.

"I'm sorry Ed, I'll clean it" she whispered her words coming out in a squeak.

Daryl stood up quickly ready to help her clean it but Ed threw him a sharp look.

"Sit down, it's her job" he grumbled.

Daryl continued to stand refusing to sit down, Ed turned back to look at Carol who was desperately trying to clean the red puddle.

"You break every damn thing you touch, you know that? useless" he snapped.

Carol kept her head down trying to avoid looking Ed in the eyes, she didn't want to see Daryl watching her like this. Weak and powerless, God she felt sick.

Ed's hands suddenly grabbed the bottom of her chin, he pulled it sharply to make her look at him.

"Look at me when I'm talkin' to you. I get no respect" he growled squeezing her face slightly.

Daryl's fist slammed on the table sharply, making all of them jump.

"She's been showin' you nothin' but respect, even though you don't deserve it" he yelled angrily.

Merle slapped his hand quickly trying to pull him down to sit.

"Stay the hell out of it Derlena, that's _their _marriage" he gritted through his teeth.

Carol let out a small frightened breath and looked up at Ed, her eyes locked with his as she opened her mouth shakily.

"I'm sorry Ed I know I'm useless" she swallowed sadly, "W-why don't you just relax on the couch or something I-I'll bring you a drink, yeah?" she suggested forcing a toothy smile.

Ed's eyes narrowed down, he gritted his teeth and looked as if Carol had just said something extremely offensive to him.

"You don't tell me what to do" he growled.

Carol suddenly knew what was coming, he raised his hand up high and sharply struck her across her face. As soon as the blow had hit her, she could hear Daryl yelling furiously in the background along with the sound of his footsteps banging across the floor quickly.

"What the hell are you doin'?" screamed Daryl furiously.

"What do you think? I'm disciplining her" growled Ed standing up to look at Daryl who was only a few centimetres away from him.

Daryl moved up close to Ed, his face almost pressing up against his.

"You don't raise your hand to your damn wife!" he snarled

"Yeah, what you gonna do about it?" smiled Ed cruelly.

Before Carol knew it, Daryl pounced on Ed his fists repeatedly began pounding him in the face until it began to show bruising. Carol watched on the floor in horror as Daryl's fists began to bleed as well as Ed's.

"You think It's okay to hit women huh asshole? You ever raise your hand to her or your little girl and I will kill you" growled Daryl with his hands around Ed's neck.

Suddenly Ed overpowered him and knocked Daryl against the wall. His fists beat Daryl's stomach a few times making him groan. Carol let out a small whimper as she watched Daryl's face bleed while Ed hit him.

"You think you can disrespect me in my house?" snapped Ed. He threw Daryl to the ground, stepping on his hand as Daryl tried to get up again to punch him.

"That's enough Ed man, leave my dumbass brother he's learned his lesson" said Merle cautiously. His eyes narrowed down at Carol, she could tell he was already to blame her. Ed removed his foot from Daryl's hand and grabbed his coat from the hook on the wall,

"C'mon Merle we're goin' out tonight I know a few bars" he looked over at Daryl who was glaring at him, he looked like he was ready to pounce again, "An' you Dixon better get the fuck out of my house before I beat your ass some more"

Daryl slowly got to his feet, he had blood drooling from his mouth but he didn't seem to care his eyes were still locked on Ed's.

"I mean what I said" breathed Daryl, "Touch her or your kid and you're a dead man" he wheezed opening the door.

Soon after Daryl exited the house, Merle and Ed followed leaving Carol to cry on the floor. Everything hurt not the red mark on her face or her split lip but the fact that Daryl almost died because of her, she didn't care about herself all she cared about was keeping him safe and she couldn't even do that right she fucked everything up.

As she cried she suddenly felt warmth around her shoulders, she turned around sharply to see Daryl sitting on the ground next to her with his arms wrapped around her.

"It's okay" he whispered holding her against his shirt.

"How did you get in?" she muttered into his shirt.

"Through the back, how else would I get in?" he chuckled, Carol stared up at him outraged how the hell could he be laughing after everything that had just happened. He was bleeding nearly everywhere and he was laughing.

"Why the hell did you do that?" she snapped angrily, "I told you not to do anything…and now you're hurt" said Carol her voice beginning to shake, she was beginning to cry all over again.

Daryl continued to hold her closer to him, he shushed her a few times as he stroked her hair gently.

"I don't give a fuck what Ed does to me, all I care about is keeping you safe" he whispered his fingers tracing the side of her face. "Let me have a look at you" he said softly.

Carol turned her head hesitantly; Daryl chewed the inside of his cheek nervously as he stared at her face. The crimson mark on her face was bright and her lip was bleeding badly. He shook his head angrily and stood up with her in his arms.

"Follow me upstairs, I'll clean you up" he said cradling her gently.

"I think he did more damage on you than me, don't you think?" she whispered walking up the steps with him.

Daryl shrugged continuing to hold her close as if he was afraid as soon as he let her go, she'd get hurt again. As soon as they reached the bathroom Daryl quickly moved her to sit on the bath and began scrambling through the medicine cabinet ignoring his own blood dripping down his face.

"You're such a reckless idiot" Carol whispered angrily as Daryl kneeled in front of her.

"Only for you" Daryl laughed pressing the disinfected tissue against her lip.

Carol smiled softly, she moved her hands gently to cup his face.

"Please promise me you'll never try to save me like that again"

"I can't promise you that" he muttered removing the tissue from her lip.

Carol's hands gripped his shirt tightly.

"Then we're going to have a problem"

"I suppose we are then" smiled Daryl.

Carol smiled brightly and quickly brought him into a kiss that took Daryl by surprise.

"C'mon Carol let me fix you first" he laughed pulling away.

Carol stood up from the bath and pulled Daryl up; she forced him onto the bath sharply.

"Give me the disinfectant I need to fix you instead" she smiled kneeling in front of him. She carefully pressed the tissue against his face trying to clean it. She hated the damage Ed had done to him, it almost seemed unfixable.

"I never got to give you my present" he said gruffly

Carol looked up at him gently as she poured some more disinfectant on the tissue.

"Present?"

"Yeah, in my bag. Go through it" he smiled wearily.

"I can't I need to finish-" Daryl's hands were already on hers, he delicately took the tissue from her hand.

"I can take care of myself I'll see you downstairs in a minute, I left my bag behind your couch" he smiled pushing her towards the door.

Carol hesitantly walked down the stairs and walked over to the large black bag, she opened it silently and suddenly her heart skipped a beat as she pulled out a long ruby dress. It was beautiful, even more beautiful than anything she had ever borrowed from Lori. It must've cost a fortune how the hell was he able to afford it? Daryl's laughter filled the room as he stood behind her watching her reaction.

"You shouldn't have" whispered Carol turning to him.

"I thought you'd be sick of borrowing shit from Lori so I got you one you can keep" he smiled

Carol didn't have any words she quickly jumped up from the floor and wrapped her arms around him, the dress still in her grip.

"Merry Christmas Carol" he muttered into her shoulder.

"I didn't get anything for you" she whispered sadly.

"Doesn't matter, you're my present and you will be for a lifetime" he grinned against her cheek.

"But Daryl-"

Daryl quickly shushed her and pulled her into a kiss, he didn't want any words right now he just wanted her happy. She pulled away slowly, her face still looked concerned.

"How can you afford this?"

"It doesn't matter, it's all on me" he chuckled, "Why don't you put it on?"

Carol looked at him sideways, what was he playing at?

"Now? But I have to clean up before Ed and Merle get back" she said nervously.

"Fuck them" said Daryl sharply, "I'll handle the damn cleanin' it's Christmas. Go get changed I'll start cleaning" he smiled guiding her towards the staircase.

When Carol first slipped on the dress she almost cried from how much she loved it, and it was actually hers. She didn't have to give it away she was allowed to keep it. She danced silently around the room watching the ruffles at the bottom of the dress flow. Ed had never ever bothered to get her a present, maybe once or twice when they started dating but after that nothing. All she got was things to please him. She shuddered trying not to think of it. She turned her head to look at the tag and smiled again.

He managed to get her size right.

Suddenly she jumped as she felt Daryl's hands wriggle through the gaps in her arms, he smoothed his hands over her stomach gently bringing her back against his chest.

"I thought you were cleaning" she giggled kissing the top of his hand.

Daryl's lips pressed against the top of her head gently.

"I wanted to see you, I like first reactions when I actually get shit right" he paused for a second. "Maybe not with Ed but you know…" Daryl chuckled pulling her close to him. She smiled up at him as he took in her beauty; he slipped his hands through her hair slowly. "I'm gonna take you out tonight"

"Where? Everywhere must be closed tonight"

"You heard Ed there are always a few bars open" he smiled

Carol frowned unimpressed, "You're taking me to a bar for Christmas?"

Daryl smiled and rested his arm on her shoulder, "Don't sound like that they usually make it special around this time of year"

Carol crossed her arms still not convinced, "How?"

Daryl slipped his arms around her again, "Trust me you'll see" he grinned

Carol slowly gave in she didn't have a lot of choice she knew Daryl would continue to go on if she didn't.

"Okay but what about the mess downstairs?" she asked nervously.

Daryl shrugged, "The mess aint too bad, I could clean it up when we get back"

Carol nodded still hesitant, "I don't know Daryl…"

Daryl's finger stroked her arm tenderly.

"I'll make the night worthwhile"

Carol smiled sweetly, her finger played with his shirt carefully.

"Okay, let me just get my cardigan" she grinned.

Daryl's hand moved to the closet, he brought out a small white cardigan and slipped it onto her lightly.

"Thank you" she smiled.

The two of them walked down the stairs completely ignoring the mess and walked outside into the snow, she hadn't realised how much heavier the snow had gotten time felt like it had hardly passed since everything else was going so fast. She shivered as the snow began to fall on her bare legs.

"So how do you feel about riding the motorcycle through the snow?" he asked already knowing her response.

"There's no way in hell I'm getting on that death trap! Are you insane?" she stated in shock.

Daryl chuckled wrapping his arm over her.

"I'm just messin' with you I know you'd murder me if I tried to get you on that thing"

"Damn right I will" she muttered

Daryl laughed lightly as he took her cold hand, he lead her towards the truck door and opened it slowly. His hand still held onto hers as she climbed in.

"Your limo awaits" he joked.

"Thank you Mr Dixon" she smiled as she shut the door.

….

Carol's eyes squinted slightly as she read the name of the bar,

_The Drunken Deer_

"The Drunken Deer?" asked Carol raising an eyebrow.

Daryl chuckled as she stopped the truck.

"It's not as bad as it sounds I promise you" he grinned, "It's really alive this time of year"

"How do you know that?"

"I come here nearly every year to get away from my Dad and Merle's drunk fights. I usually wake up on the floor of this place on boxing day" he chuckled.

Carol smiled and tapped his hand gently.

"Stay classy"

"Hey this place is like family at Christmas" protested Daryl

"I'm just playing with you" grinned Carol kissing him on the cheek before exiting the truck.

Carol's mouth dropped open as soon as she walked through the door, Daryl wasn't joking when he said the place was alive. The room was filled with people dancing, talking and drinking. Everything was decorated, even better than her home. Daryl nudged her gently.

"I can see you're impressed" he smiled

Carol quickly shut her mouth not realising Daryl had seen her surprise.

"I didn't picture it to be like this" she giggled holding onto his arm.

"Dixon!" yelled a voice excitedly

Daryl and carol both turned around quickly to see the smiling face of the bartender; both of his hands were in the air greeting them. Carol was surprised he had seen them through the crowd of people.

"Hey Phillip" grinned Daryl walking over to the bar, Carol nervously walked behind him.

"It's good to see ya, I thought you weren't comin' this year" Phillip Smiled

"Nah, I have to visit the family every year don't I?" he chuckled, "Place looks great and everyone's in order" he smiled

Phillip threw his hands out grinning brightly.

"What can I say? I'm the Governor of this place"

"How's ya wife and daughter…Penny?" he asked leaning in.

"Visiting relatives out of town I couldn't join them" he grinned, suddenly something else caught his eye. Carol turned around to see what it was and quickly realised he was looking at her hiding behind Daryl. He smiled gently.

"Who's your friend?" he asked

Daryl wrapped his arm around Carol brining her closer to the bar.

"Carol, my lady of the night" he smiled kissing her forehead

"You got good taste" he beamed as began to make drinks. He slid them across the bar for the two of them. "On the house"

Daryl gave him a small approving nod and led Carol through the many crowds of people in the bar, she tensed up beneath him. She had never been around so many people it was beginning to make her uneasy. She held her drink close against her chest as they navigated through crowd.

"Hey relax you're with me" Daryl smiled noticing her intensity.

"Sorry I'm just not used to this kind of thing I'm a little bit nervous about Ed still…" sighed carol sadly.

"I could help take ya mind off of it"

"How?"

Daryl moved his arm and pointed over at the front of the bar, there were people dancing. Carol immediately felt her cheeks go pink.

"I really couldn't here" she said shyly.

"I'd be up there with ya" he smiled moving his finger beneath her chin.

"I don't know Daryl…" she said glancing over at the couples. Why was Daryl trying to dance with her in front of everyone. He hated dancing as much as she did.

"I want to make it a night you remember"

"By embarrassing me?" she frowned

Daryl chuckled resting their drinks on one of the tables,

"C'mon I'll take the lead" he whispered kissing her cheek.

Carol let out a small sigh and nodded, Daryl grinned brightly and quickly dragged her out to the front of the bar. She began to shake as soon as she turned around. They were so exposed.

_'The Heavy'_ blasted out and Daryl was already on his feet, his hands wrapped around her waist gently. It wasn't long until he had become lost in the music encouraging Carol to dance with him to the beat of the music. She swayed in front of him, her arms resting on his shoulders. He smiled at Carol as she bit her lip shyly, she could tell Daryl could see her nervousness.

"Nice moves Dixon!" yelled a voice causing Carol to lose sync with the music completely. She blushed hiding her head in his chest.

"Jus' ignore them"

"I really hate this Daryl, please" she whined

"I aint too fond of it too but I want to make this memorable" he muttered

"Why's that?" she asked suddenly forgetting to move

"I haven't seen ya in months and I wanna make everythin' worth it in case I don't see ya again" he said quietly.

Carol smiled shaking her head, her hands cupped his face gently.

"You don't need to do that Daryl"

Daryl stayed silent, he hadn't bothered to move again even though his hands still rested on her hips.

"Are you really uncomfortable?" he asked quietly

Carol nodded quickly hoping Daryl would let them go back to their drinks.

"Okay we'll stop" he muttered pushing through the crowd again, as soon as they reached their table Carol pulled Daryl into a strong kiss, her hands brushed through his hair tenderly.

"Thank you for tonight" she smiled

Daryl grinned suddenly proud with himself,

"You're welcome"

"Hey Dixon!" yelled Phillip.

Both Carol and Daryl turned their heads to look at him and to their horror saw him greeting Merle and Ed. Daryl quickly grabbed Carol's hand and dragged her straight into the men's bathroom. She winced at the smell, it burned horribly in her nose.

"What the hell are they doin' here?" muttered Daryl angrily.

"Maybe they had the same idea" sighed Carol calmly even though inside all she wanted to do was shout.

Daryl leaned against the wall for a second and moved his hands over his mouth, he leaned against it thinking for a moment.

"Maybe…Maybe we could sneak through the backdoor or somethin'" he sighed.

Carol nodded slowly and let Daryl take her hand as he slipped through the bathroom door, they pushed through the crowds of people hurriedly, desperate that the two men wouldn't see him. Carol was mainly concerned about Ed hurting Daryl again but Daryl was more concerned if he saw Ed again and he hurt Carol he'd murder him.

Daryl quickly started up the engine and sped down the icy road.

"Sorry it was such a shitty night" mumbled Daryl regretfully.

Carol rested her warm hand on his gently trying to reassure him but he didn't pay any attention, his eyes were fixed on the road.

"I had a good night Daryl, I promise" she smiled gently.

Daryl shook his head not believing her, he seemed generally upset. She wondered if he had something else planned. Her hand rested on his thigh slowly, she stroked it up and down as she bit her lip.

"Maybe you don't need to leave so quickly when we get back" she whispered sensually

Daryl narrowed his eyes down at her hand and swallowed slowly.

"Sounds like a plan"

…

Carol quickly kicked her shoes off as her and Daryl rushed through the door kissing passionately.

"Pour some wine and put some music on, I'll only be a second" she gasped through the kiss.

"Okay" breathed Daryl walking towards the kitchen.

Carol stripped off her dress and laid it on the bed, her hands scrambled quickly underneath the bed and she pulled out a small white box. She unwrapped the peach coloured ribbons slowly and stared shakily as she pulled out the silky, white lingerie. It was still clean and fresh, Carol ran her hand over it slowly. Would it even still fit? Ed had bought her this when they were newlyweds she had remembered Ed forcing her to wear it. She had hidden it, she never wanted to wear it for him again. But she wanted to wear it for Daryl. First she slipped on the garter and then the stockings. She clipped the hold ups and then the panties. She threw her pants across the floor. She was ready for him. She grabbed the scarlet lipstick from her drawer and ran it over her lips quickly and sprayed herself with a spicy smelling perfume.

Once she had walked down the stairs she grinned as she watched Daryl sitting on the couch, his wine glass was in one hand and "Sex on Fire" was blasting out of the radio in the kitchen.

"That's a funny song" she breathed, her stomach suddenly felt tight. Was she acting like an idiot trying to surprise him in this crap? She shook her head slowly and walked up behind him, her hand rested on his shoulder gently.

"It was the only good song on the station-" Daryl's words quickly cut off as he caught site of Carol. She watched as his mouth dropped open, his hand looked like it was suddenly going to lose grip of the wine glass. She tiptoed in front of his carefully, her cheeks already beginning to go red.

"Do you like it?" she asked in almost a whisper.

"Jesus" he growled staring at her blankly

"I look stupid don't I?" she whispered suddenly feeling not as brave as she did before.

"Nah" he smiled, "You look sexy…so so sexy" he breathed staring at her.

"No I don't-"

Carol's words were quickly cut off as Daryl dragged Carol into his arms, his lips pressed roughly against her jaw. He moaned quietly, as his hands ran through her hair.

"I want you so badly" he exhaled against her lips.

Carol's nails dug into the back of his neck, making him thrust slightly.

"Then take me" she hissed pushing him onto the couch.

"Oh God" Daryl moaned softly as Carol ripped his belt away, she undid his pants quickly and sat on his lap. She didn't waste any time, she rocked backwards and forwards quickly as she rode him. She shifted her hips slightly causing Daryl to gasp loudly.

"Carol…." He moaned but Carol didn't let him speak, she pressed her lips against his roughly and slid down his body right to her knees.

Carol closed her eyes as she slid his penis into her mouth softly, trying to take as much as she could in. She bobbed her head up and down slowly, trying to tease him as much as she could. His hands rested her on her head softly, stroking her as he groaned loudly. His groans suddenly became louder as he came, Carol swallowed and moved her head back up to meet Daryl. His hands dug underneath her armpits and he pushed her onto the chair, his hips joined with hers as he attempted to slide in with her.

"Aren't you done?" she breathed

Daryl shook his head, leaning over her. Carol's legs wrapped around Daryl's waist tightly as he fucked her softly. Carol let out a few small moans as he rocked over her. His hand stroked her thigh gently as she began to pant beneath his large body. The thrusts quickly began get more aggressive and the next thing Carol knew she was letting the loudest moan she had ever made,

"Fuck" she panted against his hot skin.

"You like that?" gasped Daryl getting faster and faster.

Carol nodded stupidly; bring Daryl closer to her body.

"Don't stop" she whispered.

"I won't I'll keep going for you" he panted his hands digging into the back of her head.

She could feel each other their heartbeats racing over each other, but she couldn't stop it felt too good. She moaned louder and louder until Daryl let out a final gasp.

"Fuck!" he gasped as he came.

Carol breathed heavily as Daryl fell next to her; he moved his body to lie behind hers, he stroked her body gently as they both lay there trying to catch their breath back.

"Merry Christmas" Carol breathed finally

Daryl let out a small laugh as he kissed her ear,

"Merry Christmas" he wheezed, "Don't fall asleep on me too quickly, got another surprise for ya" he huffed

"Another one? What is it?" she asked now facing him.

"Once everything's been sorted and we've left this shit town…I want you to marry me" he breathed kissing her.

Carol giggled lightly, she wrapped her arms around his neck softly pressing their bodies together.

"You sure you haven't just been seduced by the amazing sex I just gave you" she laughed kissing his nose.

"Nah" Daryl smiled; he bent over Carol gently as he reached into his pants pockets and pulled out a small sapphire ring, he slipped it carefully onto Carol's finger.

"I haven't said yes yet" she grinned playing with the ring delicately.

Daryl pressed his lips against hers lightly.

"I might be able to convince you" he rasped.

"What if I say no?" she asked sitting up, she felt like playing games with Daryl.

"Then I'll leave right now, completely naked and I won't come back" he chuckled cupping the back of her neck, his finger traced down her back carefully making her shiver.

"Don't do that"

"Then marry me" Daryl said softly moving his hand to her hip.

Carol moved his hand back up to meet her lips, she kissed it softly.

"I will marry you then" she grinned

Daryl grinned brightly pulling her into another soft kiss, this time he really didn't want to let her go everything was perfect.

"Good thing you said yes, cause I got one more surprise" he smiled

"What is it?"

He leaned in slowly, moving his mouth to meet her ear.

"I've got the money"

Carol's eyes immediately widened even though she was fighting to keep them awake, she shook her head as she felt the corners of her mouth curve. This couldn't be real.

"Are you joking?"

"No"

"Daryl please don't mess with me" she smiled covering her mouth, she didn't know what else to do with her hands.

"I promise you I'm not messing" he grinned.

Carol pounced on him wrapping her arms around his neck roughly, her head dug into his chest as she hugged him never wanting to let him go. The two of them lay there as they embraced in a hug.

"God I love you so damn much" she sighed sleepily.

"I love you too" Daryl muttered, "Should probably get some sleep it's late" he yawned

Carol nodded not saying a word; Daryl could already tell she was drifting off to sleep.

"I'll be here in the morning" Daryl grinned

Carol nodded again beginning to let her eyes close, she fell asleep smiling that night.

_She was finally free._


	5. Chapter 5

_(Warning contains Mature themes)_

_Prologue _

_Daryl silently shoved the last bit of Carol's clothing into the suitcase, the darkness of her bedroom making it hard to see. He was sure this was enough; it had to be enough for her to leave with. She didn't have many things so maybe it was enough. He sighed miserably; he couldn't even get packing her suitcase right. He had checked over 3 times, she had everything although something was missing, but he couldn't understand what it was until it hit him._

_Money_

_He quickly shoved his hand into his pocket to take out the remaining cash he had, but something made him freeze as his hand hit something hard. He lifted it out of his pocket delicately and suddenly felt a tight pain in his chest as he lifted the small sapphire ring out of his pocket. He shut his eyes tightly while his body bent forwards on top of the suitcase; he thrust his arms out quickly to avoid falling flat on his face. He shook while his hands squeezed the ring tightly almost to the point of the sapphire nearly cutting him. He didn't care about the pain, he deserved every little bit of it. All he cared about was Carol and he had fucked things over for her like he had everything else. He breathed deeply his heart racing beneath his shirt._

_I fucked Things up…._

…

It was around 3am when Daryl woke up entangled in Carol's sheets in a sweat; the room was completely darkened as Carol laid beside him her fingers beginning to tangle with his as he sat up yawning sleepily. He didn't turn around he could feel Carol already creeping up his back, her head resting gently on his shoulder as he sat there drowsily trying to wake himself up.

"Do you have to leave so soon?" she muttered fuzzily, "It's still early"

Daryl chuckled weakly, his hand pulled Carol's forward gently as he kissed it.

"I don't wanna be here when Ed gets back, I'll probably kill him" he breathed, he could feel Carol's smile curve in his back. Her fingers continued to play carefully against his shoulders.

"It's only 3am he might be out all night with your brother"

Daryl chuckled lightly, his hand moving to squeeze Carol's.

"This is new" he grinned proudly

"What is?"

He turned to her, his hands twisting her arms around to wrap around the front of him.

"You not caring if Ed catches us foolin' around, usually you want my ass out before he steps through the door" He muttered gruffly, he watched Carol's head bow gently as another smile grew on her face.

"I'm still terrified of Ed catching us" she paused for a moment. "I don't want to hurt you, not like before" she whispered her eyes gently looking up at him sadly.

Daryl grinned again while shaking his head, what the hell was wrong with her? She could never hurt him ever. If anything he was always terrified he was going to hurt her, maybe screw things up for her and lose her. The thoughts scared him every day. He moved his arms out carefully and pulled Carol into a deep hug, he could feel Carol's hair tickle his chest gently.

"You could never hurt me" he hissed huskily.

Carol shook her head again, another small smile creeping up on her.

"I could…" she began. "Right now I just feel safer knowing that the three of us will be leaving soon" she smiled reassuringly, her hands wrapped around the back of his neck gently as she pulled him back down on the bed next to her. The bed shifted with a jolt as they fell.

"You know I'm gonna take care of you right?" he muttered, his voice was low and calm. But he could feel his excitement rushing through him.

"I know you will Daryl, and I'll take care of myself for once" she smiled to herself brightly, "It'll be nice to have some freedom" she grinned wearily.

Daryl nodded; his attention had already focused on something else, the small sapphire ring on Carol's finger. It was such a small thing, but it meant so much it reflected how much Daryl felt for her, how much he wanted to be with her forever. And It scared him, he was so afraid he was going to screw things up for her, that he'd turn out just like his father or like Ed. Or maybe he wouldn't be able to provide for her properly. The thoughts circled in his head making his stomach begin to twist, his grip suddenly got tighter on the ring as he played with it.

"It's a beautiful ring you know" began Carol stroking his finger gently; he could tell she could see him worrying. He warmed up to her, letting his grip on the ring relax.

"It was my mom's" he breathed, not making eye contact. His mother had given him the ring to protect for her, it was in the middle of the summer when he was only just starting to learn to look after himself when his father began beating him.

_"Don't you touch my fucking Son!"_

Daryl's mother had intervened after the 5th hit, he still remembered the harshness and the roughness of Merle's hands as he gripped him tightly and pulled him from the room. Everything was still kind of a blur for him, all he remembered was Merle stitching him up after refusing to take him to the hospital despite his mother's pleas and His father storming out after giving his mother a black eye, again.

His mother had nearly left that night. She was a person not a prisoner. Something had stopped her that night from leaving. She had turned around to see him standing in the doorway watching her pack, her face had suddenly crumpled and she had wrapped her arms around Daryl crying into him.

_"I'm not going to leave you baby, it's alright"_

He could still hear her words echoing through his head, making him feel worse about her death not long after. The silk of her blonde hair rested on his shoulder, that night she had made it very clear the only person she cared about was Daryl. She had given him her wedding ring subtly by slipping it into his pocket.

_"You keep this safe for me, okay baby?"_

Her words had stuck in his head all the way through his childhood, especially after the fire. He remembered getting beatings from his father after he had refused to give it to him to sell off. He wasn't ever going to let the ring go, until now.

Carol's gentle hands moved over his smooth chest cautiously,

"Are you alright Daryl? You haven't said a word since you mentioned the ring…" she began worriedly.

Daryl blinked gently; he rolled over onto one side to face Carol.

"I'm fine, I've jus' been thinkin' my mom told me to keep this damn thing safe for her, an' I have been for years tryin' to keep it away from my bastard father tryin' to sell it off" he grimaced. Carol stroked his hair delicately; he could tell she still seemed worried about hm.

"But now, you can take care of it for me I don't need to worry" he grinned, suddenly feeling a flush of relief go over him.

Carol nodded silently as she pulled Daryl's arm over her lightly.

"Just think one day it's just going to be the three of us, we'll be married and happy" she paused for a moment, her hands brushing through Daryl's hair. "I've never had that before"

"I'll make sure you have that forever" he muttered, turning to lie on his back again, his fingers stroked her chest softly. She giggled quietly.

"We could have a small wedding with just us"

Daryl glanced over at Carol he moved again leaning forward, pressing his lips to Carol's forehead. He shifted onto his side, moving an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer against his chest. He let out another small sigh of relief.

"Good, getting married in front of a lot of people makes me kind of nervous" he admitted his cheeks beginning to go slightly red. Carol smiled softly before kissing his hand as it rested over her.

"You should get some sleep it's late" he breathed running his fingers through her hair.

Carol shook her head slowly,

"I'm not tired yet" she yawned.

"Don't seem that way" he grinned turning over again, his arms now wrapping around Carol as her back pressed against him. She slapped his hand playfully as she shut her eyes.

"Tell me about our home" she yawned sleepily.

"Alright" whispered Daryl, he had no idea where to begin, "It's got a lil yard out front an' a fence surrounding it…uh….it's by the beach you know the one went down to in Savannah-" his words were quickly cut off by the sound of Carol's snores filling the room, her head dangled off the side of the bed. He gently pulled her back moving her head to rest on the pillow, he moved forward his lips pressing against her ear.

He smiled before tucking himself in with Carol.

"It's okay I'll be here in the mornin'… I promise"

….

There was something strange moving through the house when Daryl woke up the next morning, a strong smell of Coffee and grease bubbled in his nose. His face was completely pressed down into his pillow but it still managed to find his nose, he sat up sleepily licking his lips smoothly. His hand wondered across the covers, the mattress was cold beneath his hand. Daryl groggily rubbed his eyes, forcing himself up from the bed and running his palm over his face. He stretched tenderly as his muscles aching as he moved with each step he took down the hallway. As he moved down the darkened staircase the strong smell began to get stronger and stronger in his nose. He wandered out into the living room where Carol was wrapped up tightly in her white dressing gown, her hands setting out a small mug and plate on a tray carefully.

He leaned against the door sleepily, his arm supporting him against the frame.

"Mornin'" he breathed sleepily, he was surprised he managed to get any words out. He was tired as hell.

Carol jumped slightly at the sound of his voice; she stopped setting up the tray.

"I was going to let you sleep" she began a weak smile forming on her face, "I was going to leave your breakfast on the dresser for you" she said pointing at the tray on the table.

Daryl carefully made his way towards her, his feet dragging against the floor. He hovered over to her; he wrapped his arms around Carol's waist and rested his head on Carol's shoulder lightly kissing it.

"You didn't need to do that" he muttered groggily.

Carol smiled, simply giving him a quick peck on the nose and sat down twisting her body around to grab her own breakfast from the counter behind her. Daryl sat on the other end of the table, stuffing greased up bacon into his mouth. God it felt good in his mouth, he hadn't had a decent breakfast in months. He smiled up at Carol, the bacon making his cheeks puff up slightly.

"I love your cookin'" he mumbled his mouth full of food, "Better than the crap at my place"

Carol gave him a small fond smile before attending to her own breakfast, Daryl's foot nudged Carol's leg slightly.

"So, what ya doin' today?"

Carol sighed taking a sip from her mug.

"Picking up Sophia from Lori's, and probably tearing down all this 'Christmas crap'" She smiled at herself for a second before shaking her head again and moving her mug back to her lips.

"Ed making you do that?"

Carol nodded silently; Daryl nodded quickly his temper beginning to rise again. All he wanted to do was kill Ed or at least make him pay. Carol didn't deserve this, hell nobody did and what give Ed the right to make her suffer this?

"He's a bastard" began Daryl huskily, "If I see him again I'mma break his fingers" he growled angrily, He was fucking sick of Ed's shit.

Carol's hand gently rested on Daryl's, she squeezed it carefully as she shook her head at him.

"It's too early for you to be this angry already" she sighed. Daryl nodded silently returning the small squeeze. "So what are _you _doing today?" Carol asked letting go of his hand.

"Workin' in the shop" he sighed.

Carol's eyes widened slightly,

"On Boxing day? Really?"

Daryl shrugged grabbing his last piece of bacon from his plate, he didn't care about Christmas time anyway. For him it was just an occasion to get drunk and eat crap. Carol's eyes softened as she stared at him, he could tell she was concerned for him.

"Do you have to go straight to the shop?"

"Nah, Don't have to be in until 11:45" he sighed pushing his plate across the table.

She smiled, her fingers reached out to tangle with his again.

"Maybe you could come with me to pick up Sophia then, maybe stop in and say hi to Rick and Lori?" she suggested, looking up at him sweetly.

Daryl's mouth suddenly lost control as he heard her; he began choking quietly on his own saliva. Why the hell did Carol suddenly want to prance around with Daryl on her arm?

"Aint you worried people will see us?" he asked dryly trying to get his words back.

Carol shook her head slowly, the corners of her mouth curving. She stroked Daryl's hand reassuringly.

"I'm not afraid anymore" she smiled, she looked like she was going to cry. Hell he thought he might start choking up on how far his girl is coming. He leaned over the table gently, his lips pressed against hers softly.

"You're growing" he smiled against her lips.

Carol giggled against his lips before pushing him away,

"Go get ready"

"What about you?" he asked tucking his chair behind the table.

"I still need to eat" she giggled pushing him away, "Now go get ready" she smiled.

Daryl threw his hands up defensively,

"Fine" he grinned before bending over to kiss Carol again, his hands playing with the back of her hair.

"I'm serious" whined Carol as he pulled away; "Go" Daryl sighed moving away from Carol,

"Yes Ma'am" he muttered before making his way back up the stairs, the hairs on his legs beginning to stand up from the cold air blowing through the house. "Hey you mind If I turn up the heatin'?" called Daryl opening the bathroom door.

No response

"Carol" he called, "You mind if I turn up the heat?" he repeated loudly.

"Sure" she called loudly, Daryl nodded before turning the thermostat and shutting the bathroom door quietly.

Daryl stood silently in the middle of the bathroom completely unsure what to do, he had been in Carol's bathroom hundreds of times but he had never used anything of hers or Ed's. He stood for a second, waiting for his brain to come up with something for him to use. Suddenly his caught sight of his reflection, he groaned as he stared at it. He looked rough; it had been a really long time since he had bothered to shave. Daryl touched his stubble gently, letting it prick his fingers.

"_Losing the war_" he chuckled to himself as he stared at the mini grey hairs on his chin. His hand searched through the cabinet trying to find at least one razor blade. Ed had to shave every now and then didn't he? Finally after a few moments of searching Daryl pulled out a small green shaving razor. After a few minutes of awkward shaving, him cursing under his breath each time he cut himself a little bit and washing his face, his face was finally smooth. He stroked it gently; it had been a long time since he had bothered to shave.

He was 15 the first time he had attempted to shave after watching Merle for years, Merle had sat him down and gone through all the steps to shaving for him, he ended up cutting his face a lot and vowed to never shave ever again. He touched his face again, but he wanted to clean himself up for Carol after all they were leaving this shit town soon.

"You done yet?" called Carol from downstairs.

Daryl whipped his head around quickly, his hands scrambling for the bottle of _lynx_ sitting on the shelf.

"Yeah I'll be right down" he responded quickly spraying himself and walking out of the door.

Carol's hands cupped Daryl's face almost immediately when he reached the bottom of the stairs, she pressed her face against his taking in his fresh scent. She smiled against him.

"I'm gonna miss the Dixon stubble you know"

Daryl swallowed lightly, his hands moved up her back carefully.

"Well you know, thought I'd clean myself up for you…us" he grinned, Carol's finger tickled Daryl's bare chin delicately as she continued to stare at him.

"I think it looks good" she beamed releasing him slowly," I'll only be a few minutes okay"

Daryl nodded, watching Carol walk back up the stairs towards the bathroom. He relaxed as soon as he heard the bathroom door shut, and he moved across the living room and flopped in Ed's large dirty chair. It was much like his dad's, but maybe that was a common thing between assholes. The chair stank of whiskey and old cigarettes. His eyes narrowed down carefully to see a few burn marks lining up the arm of the chair and he quickly jumped out of it, remembering the line of burns trailing up one of Carol's legs.

"Son of a bitch bastard" he muttered letting himself flop on the couch.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he reached for the television remote, he was still so tired of everything. He couldn't wait to leave this damn town with Carol and Sophia, to protect them and to forget useless memories.

_"A mother and daughter have both tragically been seriously injured in a car accident. The driver-"_

Daryl muted the television as something caught his eye, a small white book in-between the cushions in the couch. He slipped his hand in-between it and pulled it out carefully.

_'Carol Anne Peletier _ 1994'

Daryl opened the book delicately, his eyes suddenly widened at the thousands of beautiful sketches on each page.

"Damn" he muttered impressed, he had no fucking idea Carol was an artist. Suddenly something made him pause, he flipped back one page gently. He squinted his eyes confusedly. On the small white page was a detailed sketch of Daryl.

_'Daryl Dixon, my Cherokee Rose'_

_Why the hell is she drawin' pictures of me?_ Thought Daryl completely taken back. His fingers pinched his lips gently as he studied the picture, it looked fresh. He was so lost in studying the sketch of himself he didn't hear Carol come back down the stairs, Already dressed.

"You can take some leftovers from yesterday if you want, I've got plenty" she laughed walking towards the coat rack.

"Okay" called Daryl only half listening, he turned around in the chair. "Hey Carol, what's this?" he asked still focusing on the book.

Carol turned to look at him, her smile suddenly fading.

"Where did you find that?" she asked now pacing towards him.

"Between the chair's cushions" he paused for a moment shutting the book, "How long you been drawing?" he asked now staring up at her.

Carol placed herself gently on Daryl's lap, her hands stroking the back of his head as they flipped through the book together.

"Since High school, all I wanted to do was draw beautiful things" she smiled leaning into him slightly.

Beautiful things? Then why the hell was he in the book?

Daryl chuckled lightly shutting the book,

"I aint nothin' beautiful" he grinned nervously.

Carol shook her head; a small sad smile appeared on her face. She moved her hands delicately to cup Daryl's face pulling it towards hers.

"Oh Daryl" she began sadly, "You're the most beautiful man I've ever met" she sighed her voice flowed sweetly like honey. Daryl was taken back,

"W-we should leave now, Sophia's probably waiting for us" he muttered trying to get up.

Carol nodded hopping off of his lap; she threw the book underneath the bookshelf before she moved through the door. Before shutting the door for the last time Daryl glanced back at the small white book lying on the floor.

He scoffed.

He wasn't beautiful.

_As far as he was concerned he was poison_.

…

He drove for twenty minutes down the block and had finally reached Rick and Lori's house, his head was turned away from Carol. He was trying to think of things not to make him nervous. He had never been very fond of Cops, not from the experiences he had had with them. Bursting through his doors and taking his father away, although this did bring pleasure for Daryl he would usually be alone in the house for a week starving without his father bringing home food or hunting it. If his father was not being arrested it would usually be Merle, and it would usually be for drugs. Whatever the reason cops were crashing into his life, all he knew was he despised them.

He glanced over at the passenger seat as Carol began to fix herself up in the mirror, carefully stroking her hair neatly before untangling herself from her seatbelt and pushing the door open. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it silently. After both feet were on the ground Carol turned around, her eyes squinting slightly when she saw Daryl not moving out of the truck.

"Aren't you coming in?" she asked leaning back into the truck.

Daryl shook his head taking in some of the smoke from his cigarette; he removed it slowly from his mouth before turning his head to look at her.

"Nah, you told me a while back that Rick's a cop. I don't do Cops" he rasped balancing his cigarette in the corner of his mouth. Carol blinked confusedly; she climbed back into the truck cautiously. Her hand rested on Daryl's arm gently as if she was suddenly afraid of him. He moved his hand to touch her softly to try to reassure her slightly.

"Why's that?"

Daryl sighed letting his cigarette fall from his lip and out the window, "Aint had no good experiences with Cops, they keep fuckin' things over for me and my family and treat me like I'm some redneck trash" he rasped.

Carol's hand softened beneath Daryl's, she raised another hand to place on top of Daryl's carefully adding a small reassuring smile.

"You _can_ trust Rick you know, he's a good man"

Daryl shrugged again; he removed his hand from Carol's gently while his other arm moved to open the door. Carol didn't say a word; she simply smiled before opening the passenger side door and hopping out of the truck gracefully. She placed herself right at Daryl's side as they paced towards the door, where Daryl mumbled miserably;

"I know a ton of cops who said they were '_good'_…bunch of god damn liars"

Lori whipped the door open almost immediately after Carol had knocked on the door, she had a bright smile on her face which quickly changed into a suspicious glare when she caught sight of Daryl hovering next to Carol shyly. He glared back quickly. He felt judged.

"Who's your friend, Carol?" she asked folding her arms seriously. Daryl's eyes squinted, who the fuck was she to judge him so quickly?

"Daryl" he began waving his hand slightly, "I'm jus' a friend givin' her a ride"

Lori raised her eyebrows unimpressed,

"Does Ed know about this?" she asked eyeing Daryl sideways. He was beginning to get pissed off with her bitchy attitude. What the fuck was her problem? All he had done was show up at the god damn door and try to be polite. Before Daryl knew it he could feel himself opening his mouth to snap at her.

"Why the hell does he need to know huh? It's jus' a damn ride he don't control her" he growled not once breaking his glare.

Carol slid her hand into his carefully and squeezed it, as if this was a way of telling him to _'Calm down'_ or _'stop making me look bad in front of my friends' _Whatever she meant Daryl knew he had to be good for her. He wondered how many times she had attempted doing that to Ed when he got angry or if it ever worked on a bastard like him.

Lori nodded forcing a fake smile, when the three of them walked through the door Lori quickly shifted Carol away from Daryl's side leading her towards the living room. Daryl glared at her sharply, he opened his mouth to protest but she quickly interrupted him;

"Rick's in the kitchen, you can go grab a beer with him" she called shutting the door.

Daryl exhaled annoyed, _what the fuck is her problem?_ He thought miserably as he turned to face the kitchen. Once he entered the kitchen the smell of onions and meat tickled in his nose, he stared quietly watching Rick cook not knowing if he should bothering going in and speaking to him or going back to the truck and smoking while listening to whatever crap was on the radio.

He cleared his throat hesitantly, immediately causing Rick to turn away from his cooking.

"Who are you?" he asked wiping the sweat away from his brow, Daryl swallowed shoving both of his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Daryl, I'm Carol's…friend" he began cautiously, "Jus' helping her pick up Sophia"

Rick nodded satisfied, his hesitant expression quickly changed into a smile as he made his way towards the fridge. He pulled out two beers and held one out to Daryl;

"You want one?"

"Thanks" Daryl muttered pulling out one of the chairs from the table Rick nodded as he shut the fridge and sat down across the table from Daryl. He dropped the two beers on the table while nodding approvingly to Daryl.

"So you a friend of Ed's?" he asked taking a sip from his bottle

Daryl shook his head at him, taking a giant gulp of his beer.

"Nah, Ed's a bastard" he rasped

Rick nodded his head again, his facial expression changing like he suddenly understood him.

"You know about Carol and him then?" he continued his finger beginning to play with the bottle. Daryl let out a small sigh and nodded again, and then suddenly something hit him which quickly filled him with rage.

"How the fuck do you know?" he snarled furiously pushing his bottle aside, Rick swallowed nodding his head in remorse. He could already see the guilt planting on Rick's face.

"For a few years, I've seen Carol with fresh bruises when she's picking up Sophia" he sighed. Daryl's fist banged on the table sharply,

"Then why the hell don't you fuckin' do something?" he growled. He had remembered having a similar conversation with another bastard cop who put it simply that the abuse against his mother was, _'Not his problem' _

Rick swallowed pushing his own bottle aside, his eyes locked on Daryl's seriously as he opened his mouth to speak;

"If she hasn't gone to the police about the abuse I can't do anything" he breathed, his expression suddenly looking plain and emotionless. Daryl leaned back in his chair, his nose scrunched up in anger.

"Yeah, well that's bullshit, too many damn people sufferin' in silence" he snapped

Rick nodded mimicking Daryl slightly as he leaned back in his chair; he rubbed his eyes tiredly agreeing with him.

"It _is_ bullshit" he began, "I take it you're close to her then?"

"You could say that"

"You two together?" he asked blinking tiredly.

Daryl shrugged again, why the hell was this cop all up in his business? Why did he give a damn about what Daryl was doing?

"You don't need to know" he growled

Rick shrugged; he glanced out behind Daryl eyeing the door carefully to make sure nobody else was listening,

"Whatever you're doing with Carol, just make sure you're taking care of her. I care about that woman and her daughter" he sighed turning his attention back to Daryl. Daryl scoffed loud enough for Rick to hear, he shifted in his seat uncomfortably before leaning into the table to glare at Rick.

"If you really cared you would've done somethin' by now" he growled not once breaking his stare from Rick. Rick smiled apologetically before leaning into the table,

"It's just one call and Ed's ass is mine" his voice was hushed and calm as he spoke. Daryl nodded, a small approving smile formed on his face when he moved his hand to grab his beer.

"His ass was already mine" muttered Daryl grinning slightly. Rick returned the smile and moved his hand to grab his drink,

"Oh yeah?"

Daryl was suddenly felt pleasure at the sudden positive reception he was getting from Rick, maybe he wasn't such a bad cop after all. "Yeah, yesterday he laid his hand on his wife so I stomped his ass" he grinned proudly. Rick glanced down at Daryl's bruised knuckles his grin beginning to grow.

"Looks like you did a number on him" he chuckled pressing his beer to his lips, "Good man" Rick held his beer up for a second while his other hand scrambled in his pockets for a second. After a few moments Rick pulled out a small crumpled up piece of paper and began scribbling on it quickly. He slid it across the table to Daryl carefully.

"You're gonna stay with her aren't you?" asked Rick, he watched Daryl carefully unfold the paper. Daryl glanced down at the piece of crumpled paper, it had a number on it.

"Course" he said slipping it into his pocket. Rick nodded; he pointed his finger in the direction of Daryl's pocket.

"If there's ever a disturbance of any kind, he hits her? He looks like he's gonna hit her I don't care. You call that number, I wanna be the first one to deal with that bastard" he growled looking angry for the first time during their entire conversation. Daryl nodded, his finger played with number carefully trying to keep it safe. He glanced up at Rick giving him a small approving nod and smile, Carol was right. Rick wasn't the bad cop.

"You know, you're an alright guy for a cop"

Rick's head tilted back and he laughed amused at Daryl's sudden change of heart,

"I'll take that as a compliment" he nudged Daryl's arm resting on the table slightly, "You're an alright guy too Daryl" Something quickly caught Rick's attention; he smiled brightly as he glanced over Daryl's shoulder at the door. Daryl turned around slowly to see Sophia shyly standing in the doorway. His eyes immediately lit up.

"Hey"

Sophia shyly waved, she opened her mouth but no words came out. Daryl smiled sympathetically at her, "You lookin' for your mom?" he asked now facing her.

Sophia nodded, she had her doll clutched in-between her arm and was now squeezing it tightly.

"She's in the living room with Lori" Rick called gently. Sophia nodded shyly and quickly paced out of the kitchen.

"See ya" Daryl called before turning around to look at Rick again, Rick gave him a small satisfied smirk before nudging him again.

"You close with that girl?" he asked shaking his empty bottle of beer disappointedly, Daryl shrugged he eyed his empty bottle and pushed it to the centre of the table.

"I take care of her with Carol, helped decorate her room for her"

Rick chuckled, "I heard about that, Sophia wouldn't stop talking about that all through Christmas day" Daryl smiled, he felt slightly proud of himself for giving her something to be happy about at Christmas. Someone had to didn't they? "You ever had kids of your own?"

Daryl scoffed, "Aint got time to have my own" he sighed glancing up at Rick sadly. He'd always thought about having his own kids but he was always afraid he'd fuck things up for the girl and the kid or he'd turn out just like his father or Merle. _The kid would probably end up as messed up as me _he often thought when the idea of kids ever popped into his head.

Daryl's attention quickly turned away from Rick when he suddenly heard the living room door creak open, he turned his head around to see Carol walking out of the living room with Sophia by her side. Her eyes were red.

"Daryl we're leaving" she sniffed calmly

Daryl nodded and stood up abruptly from his seat, he turned to Rick giving him a small approving nod. "Thanks for the beer, man" Before he could leave the kitchen Rick's hand was quickly on his, he looked concerned.

"Take care of them, alright" he said walking around the table to stand by him.

Daryl nodded, "I will" he gave Rick a quick smile before turning his back and walking out the door with Sophia as Carol stood in the doorway one last time. She hugged Lori tearfully the two of them muttering to each other that 'they'll stay in touch' and 'good luck'.

Daryl waited outside of the truck, his hand played with his keys as he waited for Carol to finally let go of Lori. When the door finally shut and Carol approached the truck, Daryl wrapped his arm around her waist gently. Afraid he was going to make her more upset than she already was.

"You told her then?" he asked turning the keys in the door. Carol nodded silently; her face was now scarlet from all the crying she had been doing. He turned his head to look at Sophia who was still clutching her doll as she sat in the back seat of the truck. "You say goodbye to…." He couldn't think of the kid's name.

"Carl" she muttered, "I didn't need to, I'll see him again" she smiled turning her head to look out of the window. Daryl nodded and turned his attention back to Carol as he drove away from the house, his hand rested on hers softly.

"You okay?" he asked driving up the street slowly. Carol nodded silently, there were still tears falling from her eyes gently. She sighed.

"I'm just going to miss Lori and Rick a lot" she breathed wiping a tear away. Daryl moved his hand away from the wheel and wiped another falling tear quickly with his finger, his hand softened around Carol's again.

"You should listen to your daughter you know, you'll see 'em again" Carol smiled weakly, she flipped her hand upside down so that she was now holding Daryl's hand.

"Thank you" she whispered linking her pinkie with his.

Daryl gave her a quick smile before moving his hand back to the wheel;

"I'm gonna drop you two off and head to work" he said miserably, he hated working at the damn mechanics. Carol turned to him slowly, her eyes immediately made her look afraid.

"H-How long are you gonna be gone?" she asked nervously. Daryl moved his hand to squeeze her thigh gently, she didn't need to worry the way she was he was going to be back.

"A few days, I still got a few things to sort out with the place…papers and shit" he sighed stopping at a stop light. Carol nodded and began to remove the sapphire ring from her finger delicately, she placed it in Daryl's palm and closed his fingers over it.

"It was _your _mother's" she began calmly, "Keep it safe for me, I don't want Ed seeing it and wrecking it" Daryl nodded understandingly and slipped the ring into his pocket carefully, Carol cupped the sides of his face gently and kissed his cheek whispering the words;

"Thank you" quietly.

Daryl drove down the block for another ten minutes, taking hesitant glances at both Sophia and Carol to make sure they were okay. He didn't want to leave them for a few days, hell he didn't want to leave them alone with that asshole for one day. If Carol or Sophia got hurt while he wasn't around he'd probably never forgive himself. He began to slow the truck down by the time they pulled up in front of Carol's house.

Still no sign of Ed's jeep.

He let out a sigh of relief before he opened the door and hopped out with Carol and Sophia. They stood in the cold holding each other for a few moments, their fingers tangled neither of them wanting to let each other go. He'd only just got her back he didn't want to disappear again. She pulled away forming a reassuring smile on her face;

"I'll see you in a few days" she whispered pulling him into a soft kiss. Daryl nodded his cold nose rubbed against Carol's softly as he moved his head,

"Stay safe for me?" he rasped as he pulled away from Carol.

"Always" She whispered detangling her fingers from Daryl's.

Daryl nodded and climbed back into his truck, flashing one more small smile towards Carol before driving away in the snow.

…..

Daryl groaned loudly at the emptiness of the mechanics, his brother and father hadn't turned which he knew meant he would be working alone for the next few hours. _Fucking assholes_ thought Daryl miserably as he shoved the keys into the shop's lock. It was freezing when he walked inside, his eyes searched around the room for a moment and his teeth gritted together as he spotted one of the windows had been left open overnight. He stomped over to it while balancing on a box muttering under his breath;

"Lazy bastards, leaving me to do all the damn work"

He glanced over at the trucks in garage; all of them were pieces of junk. He sighed irritated and switched on the radio letting _AC/DC_ blast through the radio, he lit himself a cigarette as he popped open the hood of one of the trucks and began working. He couldn't wait until he left this damn hick town, might even get a real job for himself and earn a lot of money to take care of Carol.

_Carol_

He really didn't fucking want to leave her, not after what had happened the night before. Who knows what lie Ed would make up in his head to convince himself why Carol was _'punished' _He sighed rubbing his forehead gently, Carol was gonna be okay. Or at least he hoped she would be. The sudden sound of Daryl's father's truck filled the store, he groaned tiredly. Couldn't he have one damn minute without his family pissing him off?

He glanced over his shoulder and a louder groan came out of his mouth when Merle jumped out of the truck instead of his father. _Fucking Great_ Daryl thought to himself frustrated. He turned his back on Merle trying to concentrate on getting the damn truck fixed; he'd be there all day if he didn't get it done. Merle burst into the garage quickly, knocking over one of the tool boxes.

"Does Dad know you took the truck?" muttered Daryl wiping the oil from his forehead.

He waited for an answer but instead Merle slapped him hard across the back of his head making him jump and hit his head on the hood of the car and spit his cigarette out, he whipped his head around sharply while holding his hand against his now throbbing head.

"What the fuck was that for?" he snapped painfully.

Merle didn't answer him; he slammed the hood of the car down sharply and smacked something on top of it. Daryl stared at him confused for a moment and suddenly his heart thudded at the sight of the pictures he had kept hidden under his bed now exposed. Carol and Daryl's faces grinned at him from the hood of the car. Daryl walked away still holding his head.

"What the hell are those?" he muttered trying to ignore them, like they meant nothing.

"I think you already know"

Daryl turned his back to Merle, avoiding looking down at the pictures. He wasn't going to let himself get caught out. "I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about"

"Oh really?" Merle began; Daryl narrowed his eyes back at Merle who was now scrambling through his pockets silently. He brought something small and shiny from his pocket, "You won't mind if I do this" he smirked. The flame stood up on the silver object, he moved it beneath one of the photos and Daryl immediately grabbed the pictures away from the hood of the truck.

"Asshole" he muttered wiping off the ash on the corner of the photograph. Merle sighed loudly as he shoved the lighter back into his pocket.

"What the hell are you doin' man?" he asked agonisingly.

Daryl shrugged as he flipped through the pictures carefully, the corner of his mouth curved slightly as he stared down at them. He'd never seen Carol smile that brightly before.

"Where'd you get these?" he muttered glancing up at Merle who was watching him flip through the pictures.

"Under your bed in a box, thought I could borrow a dirty magazine or something an' I found them" he said moving his hands to his pockets. Daryl nodded calmly and quickly shoved the pictures into his back pocket, simply muttering;

"They're from months ago, we ended it"

Daryl could immediately tell from Merle's expression he didn't believe a word of what he was saying, "That right?"

Daryl glared up at Merle; he wished he would just shut the fuck up about the damn pictures already.

"Yeah, that's fucking right" he growled.

"Then why are you shoving those pictures into your damn pocket huh? You still care about her or something?" he asked. He leaned on the hood of the truck his nails beginning to peel of the silver.

Daryl shook his head; he grabbed the wrench from the counter and pushed Merle aside as he popped the hood open again. Merle poked him sharply with his large fingers making Daryl flinch slightly, "I asked you a question, boy" snarled Merle.

"Nah man, I aint got time for women" he muttered turning the wrench carefully. Merle's hand leaned on the side of the car as he stood. With the sudden silence Daryl knew Merle was thinking of more reasons to yell at him about Carol. He was fucking sick of it.

"Seems like you cared enough to get your ass beat over that bitch and her brat" Merle rasped turning away from the truck. Daryl threw his head from beneath the hood sharply and shoved the wrench into Merle's chest angrily; he twisted it as he snapped;

"Don't fucking talk about them like that" he growled furiously, he was about five seconds away from beating the shit out of Merle to finally make him shut his damn mouth.

Merle pushed the wrench away from his chest and shoved it back into Daryl's making him shift backwards slightly, he smirked at Daryl.

"Why? That's what they're jus' like any other screwed up family here" he smirked underestimating Daryl. He seemed utterly amused by Daryl's sudden anger towards him.

"Shut your mouth"

"They're just as screwed up as you and I. maybe even more" he smiled, Daryl turned his back on Merle furiously taking small deep breaths like Carol had taught him to when he was pissed off. But it never worked; his anger always got the best of him. Especially when assholes like his brother were getting on his nerves.

"I'm fucking warning you" he muttered under his breath. Merle's laughter suddenly filled the room sending a cold chill down Daryl's back.

"You think you actually mean something to that bitch? You don't mean shit to her" he spat, Daryl shut his eyes tightly trying to keep Merle's words out of his head, he was so close to murdering him right there. "You're just redneck trash nobody has ever given a shit about you except me and nobody ever will" he said coldly.

Daryl turned around abruptly, the wrench in his fist shook as he glared at Merle his cheeks flashed red as he opened his mouth widely;

"You wanna keep your teeth!?" he roared stomping over to Merle, his wrench was raised over his head ready to strike Merle down. He watched for a sign of fear but Merle just laughed in his face not flinching once.

"Go ahead take a swing at me, it aint gonna change nothing" he spat seriously; his arms were folded while he stared Daryl down. "She's gonna leave you just like everybody else, she's just like our mom she was weak just like her and she's gonna die just like her cause she aint tough enough to face this world just like _her_" yelled Merle.

Daryl's fist slammed straight into Merle's face causing him to stumble against the wall, he breathed heavily not caring about his throbbing fist. All he wanted was for Merle to shut the fuck up. Merle stared up at him, his nose dripped with blood which he let fall onto his shirt.

"You don't talk about our mom" rasped Daryl furiously, "Shut your god damn mouth right now or I'll do worse than fuck up your nose"

Merle chuckled; he let his blood drip to the ground while he gazed up Daryl his smile widened across his face with pleasure as if he had suddenly gotten Daryl where he wanted him. Daryl stared down at him pityingly and grabbed the old burgundy rag from his back pocket and flung it down to Merle's lap. Merle's smile didn't disappear, even as he cleaned up the big blots of blood from his nose.

"I'm jus' tellin' you the truth baby brother and you can't handle it" he smirked satisfied with himself. He tossed the bloody rag back over to Daryl who quickly caught it with one hand and shoved it back into his back pocket, he muttered quietly to himself.

"God damn liar". And he went back to fixing the truck.

Merle rested his hand on Daryl's shoulder, making him flinch violently trying to warn Merle off. If Merle thought he was about to try and break Daryl again, he had another thing coming. He was ready to give him a black eye. "So, how long you been bumpin' uglies with her?" he smiled moving both muscly arms to rest on his back.

"A while"

"How long?" he asked, he dug his elbows into Daryl's back roughly. This was a way Merle had always tried to get Daryl to tell the truth whether it was if he stole his dirty magazines or who took the last beer in the refrigerator he would always wrestle him to the floor and stick his elbows into Daryl's back until he gave up the truth. And this time he was beginning to win.

Daryl shifted his back slightly trying to get Merle to back off, He stood up slowly from the truck and turned to look at Merle.

"Almost a year, In January" he muttered. His eyes focused away from Merle's as he watched the sudden disappointment in his face appear, he swallowed nervously. Even though he hated Merle he hated disappointing his big brother.

Merle's hands rested on his hips, he shook his head as if he was suddenly ashamed of Daryl. This made Daryl's stomach suddenly tighten even more than it already had been. The corners of Merle's mouth curved slightly as he moved his head to glance up at Daryl again.

"So, you been puttin' the wood to this whore for almost a year" the smile grew wider on his face, "An' I'm only jus' findin' out about it?" He took a small step forward making Daryl flinch slightly, if Merle was about to punch him he was about to be ready. Merle rested his hand on Daryl's shoulder again and gripped it. "You gotta stop this shit now, Derlena" he said. His smile faded from his face.

Daryl shook his head finally raising his eyes to properly look at Merle again,

"I aint leaving her with that bastard, not now"

Merle slammed the hood of the truck down and hopped on top of it, Daryl didn't stop him. Neither of them liked the bastard who owned the truck anyway.

"Why baby brother? I've seen ya with other girls and that shit only lasts a month tops" he paused for a moment, his eyes studied Daryl carefully and suddenly he looked grey. "Derlena, you in love with her or somethin'?"

"None of ya business" he shrugged. He leaned against the truck and the two of them exchanged silent stares. Merle's eyes tightened and his head shook as if he couldn't process any of the information Daryl was giving him, he opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a loud scoff. He slammed his hand on the truck and suddenly he was yelling.

"You tryin' to cuddle up with her or something? Try and get Ed out of the fucking picture" he shook with rage. "Love gets ya killed baby brother fucking remember that" he spat.

"I aint stayin' away from her" snarled Daryl. Merle stared at him bewildered at Daryl's lack of discipline. His nose crinkled as he began to shout again, his body made the truck wobble with his rant.

"You gonna marry her? Is that it? Jus' run away and live some perfect life? Well I got news for you baby brother that aint gonna happen. You're a Dixon you got bad luck in your blood you're jus' gonna end up alone and she's gonna end up dead" A single vein stood out in the middle of his forehead. Daryl opened his mouth to shout back but Merle sharply waved his hand to shush him and continued to yell, "You can't even afford your own place how the hell are ya gonna afford a ring or things to take care of them?" he snapped viciously.

Daryl didn't respond, his mind had already shut down the minute Merle's rant had started. He was done listening to his bullshit. He played silently with his Mother's ring which was still tucked into his pocket, no matter what points Merle made it wasn't going to change his mind. He was going to save Carol Peletier whether he liked it or not. Merle paused for a moment as he caught his breath back; he stared at Daryl's head bowed to the ground while his hands moved around his pockets.

"Daryl" he began, his sudden calmness taking Daryl off guard. "You aint giving her Mom's ring are ya?" Daryl's head shot up quickly he blinked surprised at Merle's mention of their mother, after her death and after all the arguments over her ring, He refused to speak about her. He wouldn't even acknowledge the fact they'd ever had a woman living in the house for several years.

Daryl shook his head, his fingers locked over the ring protectively.

"Course not"

Merle nodded and slid his hands back to his sides, he sighed and stared at Daryl for a few moments unhappily. "I don't want to lose a brother" he breathed deeply, "I'm gonna help you and put an end to this shit"

"What the hell are you gonna do?" asked Daryl suddenly defensive again.

Merle breathed again, he slid off of the hood of the truck.

"If ya don't stop seein' her, I'm gonna tell Ed and I mean it" his eyes were locked on Daryl's. "Merle might even be able to handle her properly if I tell him" as he said this the corners of his mouth perked up. Daryl just couldn't place it, what the fuck was wrong with his brother? Did proving a damn point mean that much to him that he had to risk his own fucking brother? He jumped away from the car sharply, his eyes were wide and his fists were ready again.

"That's your big fucking plan?" he cried, "He'll kill her and he'll still touch me no matter how innocent you try to make me" he snarled. Merle shook his head disbelievingly, his hand grabbed Daryl's shirt sharply.

"If you don't listen to me, you're paying the consequences boy "he growled. Daryl shook himself away from Merle, angrily shoving him against the wall before turning his back on him.

"Fuck you" He opened the door and began walking.

Merle quickly followed behind him still trying to grab him every now and then but Daryl kept shaking him off furiously.

"I'm jus' trying to help you!" he yelled

Daryl flashed his middle finger and jumped into his truck, he turned the key to start the engine and rolled down his window to look at Merle.

"Fuck you, keep your damn help to yourself"

Merle's eyes were suddenly cold and stone like.

"If you walk away now brother, you're gonna pay for it!" he cried, the vein in his neck stood out as he glared at Daryl pulling away.

He shook his head.

"I aint walkin' away I'm doin' the right thing" he called before speeding off down the street and flashing his middle finger one last time.

….

Daryl pulled up in front of _'The Drunken Deer'_ after thirty minutes of muttering to himself angrily and going through packs of cigarettes like they were candy. He sat in the car for a few moments with his head tilted back painfully he felt sick and raw, So he pushed the door open and immediately stormed into the bar expecting there to be a lot of people, he was shocked to find the entire place abandoned. But that didn't stop him; he hopped on one of the stools quickly and banged on the bar eagerly. He needed a good, strong beer from Phillip. When he glanced up he was taken by surprise again, Phillip wasn't standing in front of him. Instead it was Martinez, one of the bartenders who also worked at the bar but he rarely ever saw. Something wasn't right.

"Give me a strong beer" he muttered. Martinez didn't speak; he grabbed a glass from the side of the bar and began pouring it. Daryl glanced over the bar slightly to look at him, "Say, what happened to Phillip?"

Martinez shook his head while pouring himself a glass, "Some heavy shit man" he took a sip from his glass quickly, "His wife and daughter crashed last night when they were coming back from her mom's" he said sadly. "It was all over the news today, had to turn the TV off" he sighed wiping a small puddle of beer on the end of the bar.

"Shit man, how'd they crash?"

"Some drunk asshole drove into them, he's fine though" he leaned against the bar rubbing his head softly.

"What about them? They okay?"

"Maybe his daughter his wife though…" he paused for a second looking disturbed "…His wife's dead, she went right through the windscreen got the call early this morning"

Daryl shook his head and took a giant gulp of his drink, "God damn…" he muttered tiredly, he had no idea what he'd do if he lost Sophia and Carol like that. "You think Phillip will be alright?"

Martinez shrugged as he poured himself another glass below the bar, Daryl tapped lightly for another refill. "I don't know…Phillip is the kind of guy who seems like he can jump back from this. Might take him a while but he'll come back. He's strong" grinned Martinez fondly, his smile faded and he began to take shots from the glasses. Daryl sat at the stood with his palm pressed into his face, his finger whirled around the top of the glass gently.

When his Mom had died his Dad never really jumped back, the abuse would get worse and more frequent. His Dad and Merle would fight all the time to the point of him throwing him out a lot. He drank more heavily and constantly blamed Daryl saying;

_'You let her die'_

Or

_'You could've stopped it'_

And he grew up believing him, he didn't know how it was his fault but from the way his Dad screamed at him he must've had something to do with it.

He never understood his Dad when he yelled these things at him; his dad didn't give a crap about her when she was alive. Why should he when she's dead? His Dad was a tough guy but he let his anger take over him and make him more of an asshole than he already was and it rubbed off a lot on him and Merle, Mainly Merle.

Ugh Merle, Daryl grabbed his glass swiftly and gulped his drink down. He didn't want to think about that asshole. He turned his attention to over to Martinez and tapped on the table quickly catching his attention.

"Hey, where is everybody? Usually the place is packed by 11am"

Martinez sighed and threw his rag over his shoulder lightly,

"Phillip threw everyone out when he got the call, he kept yelling saying 'I could've been with them' and 'you kept me here'. He wouldn't stop screaming at them to get out"

"Damn, why're you still here then?" he rasped taking another sip.

"Phillip wanted to keep me here to keep things running later I guess, I don't know" he shrugged.

"What about your family?"

Daryl watched as Martinez lent forward on the bar, he looked like he was about to go into a long story. "Things aint been great with me and my wife, my wife and kids are at my parent's this year while we work things out. Doesn't look good though" he sighed pouring a third drink in a shot glass.

"Aint you worried?"

Martinez narrowed his eyes up slowly and shook his head,

"Doesn't matter does it?"

Daryl shrugged and quickly went back to gulping down his drink, it was really turning out to be a shitty morning for him after all. Martinez silently lit himself a cigarette, the smoke burned sweetly in Daryl's nose. God, he could use a smoke. Martinez narrowed his eyes over to Daryl noticing him eyeing the cigarette in his mouth. He walked over and threw the pack on the table, they both exchanged silent looks before Daryl grabbed one out and inhaled.

"So, where's Merle today?" he asked leaning against the bar.

"Fuck Merle" he groaned, he took another giant gulp of his beer and laid his head down on the table sharply. Martinez squinted his eyes slightly and bent down to look Daryl in the eye, he stared at Daryl's fourth empty glass concerned.

"You alright man?" he asked moving the glasses aside.

"Everythin' is fine as hell" he muttered sloppily.

Martinez rolled his eyes.

"C'mon man, what's going on with you and your brother?"

Daryl sat up sloppily; the beers were beginning to go to his head.

"He's jus' being a jackass, it don't matter" he eyed the beer taps and grabbed his glass, banging it on the bar. "Another beer"

He inhaled his cigarette as he watched Martinez pouring the fifth glass, Martinez chuckled nervously.

"Man you should probably go easy on these, this shit will kill you" he laughed.

Daryl shrugged and put his cigarette out. His head tilted back as he gulped down his drink in one go. Martinez stared at him, his arms were crossed over his chest.

"I'm gonna go in the back to stock up some more drinks, okay?"

Daryl nodded before resting his head on the table again, he shut his eyes lightly as he let the smell of whisky burn in his nose.

_Fuck this day had gotten depressing quickly_.

…..

He woke up a few hours later with his face pressed against the wood of the bar and Martinez poking him sharply with his finger. His neck was stiff and sore from staying in one position for several hours. He muttered something quietly as Martinez continued to poke him;

"You poke me one more time and I'll break your fingers"

Martinez didn't stop he continued to the point of Daryl sharply lifting his head up and punching him hard in the chest muttering again for him to "Knock that shit off"

"C'mon man you gotta go, I'm closing up" he sighed stretching to turn off the television above the bar. Daryl's eyes flickered open sleepily, his head hurt like hell.

"What time is it?" he rubbed his eyes gently.

"Six thirty, no one's been in all day" he breathed setting down the bar rag.

Daryl's ears pricked up quickly, he stumbled as he slid himself off of the bar stool and grabbed the money from his pocket.

"Why the hell didn't you wake me?" he growled setting the money down on the bar, he didn't have very much on him.

"You looked like you'd had a rough morning" he slid the money over the bar, "And keep it; the beers were on the house".

Daryl nodded and slipped the money back into his pocket, "Thanks man" he rasped before heading towards the exit. Martinez walked away from the bar and switched off the lights.

Once they were outside and Martinez had locked the door he turned to Daryl as he walked back towards his truck,

"I hope you sort things out with your brother"

Daryl nodded not saying a word and climbed into his truck quickly, the snow was beginning to get heavier. He turned on the radio as he drove, letting the Beatles blast out. For once he didn't mind listening to it, because it reminded him so much about Carol. He suddenly felt himself grinning as he thought of her and then he thought of the house. _Their house by the beach_. It was the first thing he had done without fucking it up and he was proud. He finally had something which was really his and he could share it. He smiled to himself proudly.

When he reached the house it was in complete darkness, his father snored loudly in his chair. When he switched the light on he saw the bottle of whiskey in his hand and sighed groggily, every fucking person in his family was an asshole. He couldn't wait until he was over and done with this shit so he could leave. He stumbled towards the fridge tiredly and swung it open; all that was left was a rotting chicken leg. He sniffed disgusted and shut the fridge again. Suddenly his heart skipped a beat and he quickly dropped his bag to shuffle through it. He grinned as he pulled out the cold turkey leg from the container Carol had given him and quickly began chewing it. He wondered around the house and eyed the phone a few times wondering if he should call her or not. There was still a chance Ed would pick up instead of her. He stood in front of the phone and stared at it for a few seconds before deciding to drop the food on the windowsill and pick up the phone.

It rang,

Once

Twice

And then stopped ringing all together.

He could hear Carol's calm gentle voice saying "Leave a message" and then the sudden beep. He stared at the phone and put it down again. Maybe Ed was asleep and ignored the phone to avoid waking him. He paused for a few moments wondering when suddenly he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and Merle whistling as he walked through.

He glanced over his shoulder at him and picked up his plate to continue chewing on the turkey leg,

"You with Ed?" he mumbled, his words muffled.

"Mhmm and I've cut you loose lil brother" he grinned proudly as he walked up to Daryl and took the plate from his hands.

"What?"

Merle leaned against the counter and licked his fingers as he dug into the already half eaten turkey, "You gonna be jus' fine. It's gonna be the two of us jus' like before" he smiled suddenly triumphant.

Daryl stepped away from the phone and stomped over to Merle quickly, his fist hit the table making Merle lean back slightly the smile fading from his face.

"What the fuck did you do!?" he shouted, his voice suddenly sounded slightly frantic.

Merle slapped him around the head sharply and pointed to their father sleeping,

"Shut the fuck up, do you want to wake him up?"

Daryl didn't give a fuck, he shoved him harshly. He fell, his back hitting the fridge sharply and his hand knocking down a glass. He stared at Daryl bewildered, his furious eyes pierced through him.

"What the fuck did you do? Carol aint answering the phone!" he screamed not turning his head once when he heard his father groan quietly.

Merle smiled proudly and straightened his back against the wall as he stared Daryl straight in the eyes. His heart slammed against his chest making it hurt, he could feel his fists shaking not sure if with anger or fear. He could hear the blood beginning to rush within him as Merle's smile grew wider.

"He must be disciplining her"

Daryl's hands shoved Merle against the wall again, making his head thud.

"What the fuck are you talkin' about!?" he barked

"I told Ed about you and Carol, you're scot free lil brother" his smile bad Daryl's stomach burn as well as make his heart ache. His grip tightened on Merle's shirt as his head directed to the ground, his breaths grew heavier and heavier until Merle's hand rested on his. He looked up sharply and his nails dug into Merle's skin making him wince slightly.

"What the fuck did you tell him?" he snarled

He shook his head, his smirk growing.

"I told him about her seducing the shit out of you, making you confused" he pushed Daryl's hand away gently as he continued, "He didn't take it well, damn well rushed out of the bar muttering that he was gonna teach her a good old fashioned lesson that she'll never forget" Merle's smile was poisoning, Daryl couldn't do anything in that moment but scream angrily as he began to punch Merle repeatedly.

"I'll kill you!" he roared. Merle opened his mouth to speak but Daryl was already on him, punching him, kicking him and slamming him against the wall. His teeth were bared as he glared at Merle slumped against the wall, blood pouring out of his nose and mouth.

"You son of a bitch, if that asshole hurts Carol in any way I'll make sure you pay, you and Ed." He growled still clutching onto Merle. He opened his mouth to speak again but Daryl slapped him around the head sharply to shut him up.

"_If _he lays one hand on that little girl because of you, I will kill you and I mean it" he said breathily. Merle struggled to speak; Daryl stared down at him pityingly and let him drop to the floor weakly. He spat at him before turning his back on his brother.

"I'm tryin' to save you, I don't wanna lose a brother" he wheezed weakly.

Daryl leaned over and grabbed him by the shirt again, he pressed his face into Merle's sharply making their noses touch.

"You listen to me; I don't give a_ fuck _about what Ed does to me. All I care about is that little girl and her mom. If anything _anything _happens to them I'll put a bolt in you and him" he hissed slamming Merle against the wall.

Merle spat a blob of blood on the floor.

"Fuck you then" he breathed, "You're tainted you're both tainted-"

He was quickly interrupted by the sudden loud shrill of the phone, Daryl didn't hesitate he quickly sprinted over to the phone quickly and picked it up sharply.

"Carol?" Daryl's voice came out quieter than he expected. He could hear the phone tremble slightly and a few muffled cries. "Carol?" he repeated worriedly.

"I-I found your number in mommy's jacket" Daryl clutched the phone tighter at the sound of Sophia's voice.

"What's wrong? Are you okay sweetheart?"

"Daddy's hurt mommy she's not waking up" her breaths started to get quicker as she began to sob, "I'm scared"

Daryl hushed her quietly, "It's alright breathe okay?" he was beginning to have trouble with his own breathing but he had to stay strong for her, he breathed deeply brushing his fingers through his hair lightly. "Where are ya?"

She sniffed.

"In the living room"

"Where's your dad?" he asked holding the phone even tighter.

"He left" her voice shook. "He-He tried to take me with him" she whispered beginning to cry all over again. Daryl shushed her calmly and stroked the phone softly forgetting Sophia wasn't with him.

"Hold on tight, I'll be there as soon as I can" he promised, "If your dad comes back hide alright? I'll deal with him"

"Okay" she whispered.

The line went dead and Daryl set the phone down gently. The house was in complete silence as he stood there; his hands were tangled in his hair while he remembered to breathe. The silence was quickly interrupted by the sound of Merle's obnoxious voice;

"Who the fuck was that? Was it the whore?" he sniggered

Daryl turned around sharply and grabbed his keys from his pocket, he walked over to Merle quickly and kicked him abruptly in the shin,

"Nah it's her little girl, probably scared out her mind cause her mom aint breathin'!" he growled turning away from Merle and heading towards the door.

"Shit is she okay?"

Daryl shrugged and grabbed his bag off of the floor, Merle stood up shakily from the wall and limped over to Daryl slowly, he rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry lil-"

Daryl shook him off and opened the door.

"Save your shit" he muttered before slamming the door.

After a few frustrated moments of trying to start the engine he finally sped off down the street swerving by cars and almost hitting them. He didn't care if he hit anything he was determined to get there in time before Ed did worse.

Was she dead?

Daryl shook his head angry at himself for thinking that, she couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be. Fuck, he'd never ever forgive himself if she was dead. God he could only imagine what Sophia saw when she found her like that. He smacked his head angrily; He was going to fucking murder Ed if he ever saw his face again.

After a few minutes of driving dangerously down the street, he finally reached Carol's house and jumped out of his truck without any hesitation. His fists beat against the door sharply while he yelled.

"Sophia! Carol!" he yelled frantically.

No response.

His stomach tightened and he breathed deeply before stepping back slightly,

"Sophia if you're near the door step back. I'm breaking it" he called before bashing the door repeatedly with his foot, with the fourth blow to the door it finally swung open and he sprinted into the house. It was darkened and freezing with no sign of Carol or Sophia. He could feel a chill rise up his back.

"Sophia? You in here, it's Daryl!" he called searching around the room.

Still no response.

He sighed and quickly began searching for Carol around the house. _Please don't be dead; please don't be fucking dead_ he thought to himself weakly. He was dreading seeing her body. Suddenly he felt two, small, warm hands wrap around his waist. He glanced down to see Sophia sobbing into him quietly. She clutched him tightly. He could hear her wheezing.

He kneeled down in front of her and held her close to him, letting her cry.

"Breathe lil' darlin' I'm here" he muttered. She pulled away, her tears still streamed down her face.

"He-He tried to take me after he hurt her, b-but I hid in mommy's closet. That's when I found your number" she stuttered shakily. "I was so scared"

Daryl shushed her again softly.

"Where is she? Your mom"

Sophia didn't speak, her hand slid into Daryl's softly and she led him through the dark house to behind the couch. As soon as they both caught sight of her Sophia broke down in tears again and buried her head into Daryl sobbing quietly.

His heart skipped a beat when he laid his eyes on her, his chest suddenly felt tight and he thought he was going to either break down or break something. Her eye was swollen and black, the top of her head still bled scarlet blood and her face was almost covered with bruises and so was her neck. He breathed deeply it didn't look like Carol at all. It couldn't have been Carol.

He knelt down slowly releasing Sophia and pressed his ear against her chest waiting for a heartbeat he waited a few seconds and suddenly felt a thud against his ear. He let out a small sigh of relief and turned around to look at Sophia.

"She's alright…I'm gonna get some help okay?" he breathed. Sophia nodded and moved to sit on the floor next to Carol, her hand slipped into Carol's gently and she squeezed it.

Daryl shook his head and quickly shoved his hand into his pocket scrambling for the number Rick had given him earlier; he walked over to the phone and dialled the number desperately.

"Hello?"

Daryl's mouth suddenly felt like it wasn't working; he swallowed lightly and pressed the phone closer to his ear.

"I need help man, now ambulances more cop anythin'" he rasped weakly.

"What's wrong?" his voice sounded both soft and concerned. Daryl breathed resting his hand on his forehead.

"I fucked up" he breathed dryly He could hear Rick moving around with the phone.

"Okay, I'll be there soon" he swallowed and quickly hanged up the phone.

Daryl stood there in silence for minute not knowing what to do, he couldn't breathe and he could blink he just stood there motionless with the phone hanging from his fingertips. Sophia lightly slipped her hand into his and squeezed it gently, he glanced down at their two hands tangled together and he swallowed forcing a quick, weak smile.

"C'mon I'll move her so she's comfortable" he muttered dryly. He bent down slowly and carefully scooped Carol's delicate body into his arms gently and set her down on the couch trying not to drop her. Once Carol was on the couch and he had sat down on the coffee table, Sophia quickly climbed onto the coffee table next to him, her hand once again linked with his. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him,

"Everything's gonna be alright you know, you're mom is gonna pull through this" he promised "She's strong like you and me" he smiled weakly. Sophia didn't smile back she simply just buried her head into Daryl again and began sobbing, he rocked her gently as her body shook. He shushed her soothingly "It's okay aint gonna let anybody hurt you or your mom again" Sophia nodded silently, she pulled away from him and whispered quietly,

"Please don't go." Daryl shook his head and pulled her close again,

"I aint gonna leave you not with him" he pulled her away gently, "Help's gonna be here soon, go get ya stuff" he urged. Sophia nodded silently and ran up the stairs, she began to sob again.

He sat in silence just watching Carol, she looked weaker a lot weaker than he'd ever seen her. There had been so much done to her by Ed, he never thought he could do something as bad as this to her the bruising was too awful. Fuck he had been telling Sophia over and over that she'd be okay but would she? He was just lying to himself and her. He suddenly felt tears begin to fall down his face and he wiped them away quickly and angrily. _God dammit_ he thought to himself furiously and he moved to crouch down next to her, his hand clasped hers desperately and he sniffed lightly not knowing what to say.

"Fuck" he muttered, and then he looked at her again this time the tears just wouldn't stop. "I had one damn job and I fucked it up" his voice cracked, "And I'm sorry, I'm so fuck-" he couldn't finish his sentence. He just bowed his head swallowing delicately, "If you pull through this…I'll make it up to you I promise-"

Daryl's sentence was quickly cut off at the sound of sirens blasting outside, the red and blue lights flashed; he sprinted straight to the door and flung it open. He began waving his arms in the air signalling Rick to look at him as he stepped out of the cop car.

"She's in here!" he yelled

Rick turned his head and began pointing in Daryl's direction his hands also waving desperately. The paramedics rushed through the door pushing Daryl aside; he stood in the doorway as he watched them crowding her. Rick moved next to him slowly he shook his head sadly.

"What happened?"

Daryl swallowed dryly.

"I fucked up…I didn't get here in time…" Rick nodded and patted his shoulder gently,

"It's okay man" he turned his head towards the paramedics, "How is she?" he yelled. One of the smaller paramedics stood up,

"She's alive but there's been a lot of damage done to her" he called.

_Damage_

Daryl covered his head with his hands sharply, he breathed deeply. Fuck, this was all his fucking fault. Rick patted him carefully and guided him out of the house as they put her on the stretcher and put her into the ambulance. Out of Nowhere Daryl felt a force shove him against the wall, he looked up sharply to one of the cops holding him up.

"Did you do this shit?" he growled, Rick moved behind him trying to pull him off of Daryl. He shook him off quickly.

"Shane stop" Rick urged

"I didn't do shit" he spat angrily, suddenly forgetting his sadness. Shane leaned his face in close with Daryl's, he held onto Daryl's shirt tightly.

"You sure I know _you_ people are known for this kind of crap"

Daryl's eyes squinted, his fist raised quickly and Rick speedily intervened holding his fist. His other hand pulled Shane backwards sharply.

"Get back to the car now" he growled. Shane gave Daryl one last dirty look before letting him go and stomping off to the car moodily. Rick rested his hand on Daryl's shoulder and they both exchanged silent nods. "You know he could've put you away if I hadn't stepped in"

Daryl shrugged, "Thanks" he muttered with his hands tucked into his pockets as he stared at the ground. Rick's grip on Daryl's shoulder tightened,

"Where's Sophia?" he sighed

"Upstairs. The son of a bitch tried to take her after hurting Carol" he breathed angrily. Rick nodded understandingly and squeezed his shoulder again as if to tell him to calm down.

"I'm gonna take her in for questioning"

"She's just a lil girl" he sighed turning to look at Rick, what the hell was he expecting to get from her after seeing her mother hurt like that?

"I know, I know we just need information on what happened" his eyes locked with Daryl's abruptly "We're gonna track Ed down and bring his ass in" he said sternly, the furiousness in his eyes matched Daryl's.

Daryl crossed his arms and glanced up the dark stairway, he thought of Sophia and what he was going to do with her once they were finished questioning the two of them. He directed his eyes back to Rick quickly who was staring at him sideways.

"You want me to come with y'all?" he asked narrowing his eyes between Rick and the staircase. Rick shook his head slowly.

"I don't need you to come, I'm gonna take her in for questioning and bring her back to mine" he sighed leaning against the door quietly. Daryl nodded muttering,

"That's a good plan" it again came out quieter than he expected it to. Everything going on just reminded him of the day his mother died, the neighbours popping their heads out to watch the 'show', the ambulances, the cops and the missing father. He moved his eyes to look at the staircase, he watched as Sophia silently trod through the house, her body still shook as she sniffed. As soon as she reached outside her hand immediately linked with Daryl's again.

Rick knelt in front of her and took her other free hand in his.

"You're gonna come with me and then I'm gonna take you to my house" he said forcing a weak smile. Daryl slowly slipped his hand out of hers, turning around to his truck.

"I'm gonna go see Carol" he muttered quietly. Before he could even take a step Sophia's hand was quickly locked with his again. The two men both looked down at Sophia's tight grip and exchanged silent looks.

"I want to stay with Daryl" she whispered quietly. Daryl and Rick looked at each other for a few seconds, he glanced back over at the flashing ambulance lights and down at Sophia's hand. He could see the fear in her bright eyes and it immediately reminded him of himself, there wasn't anyone to hold onto Daryl while he sobbed for his mother. But there was for Sophia.

He nodded.

"I'll stay with you" he began and the three of them walked to the car quickly, just before he got in the back of the car he knelt down in front of Sophia, "After I've come with ya, you gotta go with Rick so I can check up on your mom" he said dryly. Sophia nodded silently and the two of them climbed into the backseat. As the police sirens screamed, Sophia pressed her head into Daryl's chest sleepily her tears began to dampen his shirt. He shushed her quietly and wrapped his arm around her shoulder repeating,

"It's gonna be okay"

But hell, what did he know?

…

It had been an entire hour and Sophia was still in questioning which pissed Daryl the fuck off, each time he saw one of the silver doors open he sat up expecting it to be Sophia and Rick but it would usually be another cop or a receptionist and each time he would throw himself back into his seat and groan miserably. She was just a little girl, what was she supposed to tell them? She's been through a lot and the last thing she needed was to be reminded of the entire damn thing. He leaned backwards in his chair and tilted his head backwards slightly with his hands covering his face.

_I fucked things up for that little girl and her mom _he thought to himself painfully. _Should'a left them alone_ Daryl's hands slapped his head sharply. _If I left them alone maybe she'd be…_ Daryl flopped back into his original position trying to ignore this thought nothing was gonna happen to them. Suddenly one of the doors opened and Sophia walked out quickly and wrapped her arms around Daryl, he looked down at her nervously and patted her back. Rick stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, he had a small satisfied smirk on his face as he watched Sophia latch onto him.

"I'm gonna have Lori pick her up" he turned to Shane who was also standing next to him and glaring at Daryl, "Take her to the front for me, Lori's on her way" Shane nodded obediently and moved next to Daryl signalling him to let her go. "I'm gonna take Daryl in for questioning" said Rick quietly. Daryl nodded and pulled Sophia away gently.

"I'll see ya soon" he rasped ruffling her hair before she walked away with Shane, who gave him one last dirty look before pushing through the doors.

Daryl sat in the cold room for thirty minutes answering all of Rick's questions, such as

_What time did you leave her?_

Or

_Where were you at this time?_

He was sick of it, every question just made him feel guiltier and guiltier to the point of him shouting at Rick that he didn't want to do this anymore. Rick had nodded understandingly and said he had enough answers anyway and proceeded to escort Daryl out of the room. Once they were outside he turned to Rick apologetically. He opened his mouth to apologise but Rick stopped his quickly muttering that he understood. Daryl nodded.

"What did Sophia say?" he asked shutting the door behind him.

Rick shook his head.

"I can't tell you that, it's police work" he sighed. Daryl tilted his head to the side slightly and let his hands flop to his sides.

"C'mon man, please"

Rick looked up and down the empty corridor and sighed,

"As a cop I can't tell you anything" he began Daryl lowered his head, Rick rested his hand on Daryl's shoulder gently and lowered his voice, "But, as a friend I can tell you Ed came home from the bar and started hurting Carol to the point of Carol yelling at Sophia to leave" he whispered quietly. Daryl's stomach twisted and suddenly he felt himself lose balance, he leaned against the door frame exhaling deeply.

"Fuck…" he muttered

Rick patted Daryl's back gently,

"It's okay man, you want a ride back to the hospital?"

Daryl shook his head and moved to sit back on one of the chairs,

"I don't want to distract you from finding that bastard Ed. I'll be okay" he breathed.

"Alright, but after you seen Carol get some sleep. You're gonna need it" he sighed turning around, Daryl nodded one more time and covered his face again once Rick was gone.

The ache in his stomach grew again.

….

He continuously shifted in his seat as he waited for the nurse to guide him to Carol's room, his stomach turned each time he watched the doors open and close and time seemed to fly by every time he shut his eyes. Minutes kept passing by,

_5 minutes turned to10 then turned to 15_

They seemed to be going quicker and quicker the longer he sat there and he was so god damn worried about her, he wanted to see her so badly but at the same time he was afraid to see her where all her bruises would be easier to see in the hospital's light. He groaned and doubled over letting his nails dig into his head painfully. What the fuck was he going to do? After all this mess they weren't going to be able to go back to normal and pretend everything was okay with her husband still out there and his brother.

_Fuck _

_Fuck _

_Fuck_

And then it hit him, the one option which had never occurred to him before and then the pain in his stomach grew even more. _He had to let them go. _Send them out to Savannah, hell anywhere safer than being stuck in this town. The house was already bought and half decorated and he had enough cash to give them to survive. He breathed in deeply still clutching his stomach as he sat there. Was it the right decision?

Even if they caught Ed, he'd still get out one day and make sure Carol pays. He'd hurt her even worse maybe even kill her. Or if he gets off scot free he'll never let her go. He felt like vomiting he felt so vile inside.

_It was the only choice he could come up with._

If he stayed he could keep an eye on Ed, make sure he isn't gonna go looking for her. Him and Merle. The pain in his stomach quickly became unbearable and he rushed straight into the bathrooms, he keeled over in one of the stalls and vomited messily into one of the toilets. Groaning loudly when he hit his head against the wall of the stall. He grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped his mouth before shakily standing up and stumbling towards the sink.

He glared when he caught sight of himself in the mirror; he was poison getting rid of everybody around him. His mom, his dad, Merle and now Carol. Everybody left him and it was all his fault, Merle was right he was _tainted._ He leaned over the sink and ran the taps, his fingers brushed through the cold water and he splashed his face quickly. He lifted his dripping face up slowly to the mirror and elbowed it sharply trying to get rid of his reflection. He didn't need to see it.

The sound of a women's voice echoed through the bathroom, he glanced over at the door to see a woman standing hesitantly, her eyes were bright and green and her hair was short and brown. She had a worried smile on her face, which looked like it could light up a room.

"Mr Dixon, are you okay?" she asked, she had a light southern accent.

Daryl nodded wiping his damp face, how long had she been standing there?

"I'm jus' tired, that's all. Jus' so damn tired" he breathed walking out of the room with the woman next to him.

"Carol's been cleaned up and she's sleeping at the moment" she smiled softly, Daryl glanced over at her not returning the smile.

"She okay?"

"She's stable now" she smiled, Daryl nodded. The corridor felt like it was going on forever. "I'm Maggie by the way, My dad's doctor Greene he's taking care of her for you, we both are" she smiled, Daryl glanced over at her and this time returned the smile, muttering the words

"Thank you" quietly.

Daryl suddenly realised why Maggie had stopped, they were in front of Carol's room. He swallowed nervously; his guilt and discomfort began to build up again. He stood back shaking his head. Maggie turned to him, a small smile planted on her face and she slipped her hand onto Daryl's shoulder and stroked it gently.

"It's okay" she whispered opening the door.

They took a step into the room and his eyes searched over it, he caught the bed and his heart dropped at the sight of Carol's pale, weak, bruised face. There were tubes running over her ending at her arm and in her nose. Everything was silent apart from the sound of her machine. He blinked a few times but the tears, this time wouldn't stop falling. Maggie shut the door silently leaving the two of them in peace.

He covered his mouth with his hand trying not to make a sound, he pulled the chair out from next to the bed and sat on it, his hand quickly linked with her hand. It was still warm. His heart raced.

If had come sooner or if he hadn't tried to fight his problems with beer, she would've been okay. He let go of Carol's hand slowly and rubbed his face, what was he supposed to say? _Don't be a pussy_ he thought tiredly and held onto Carol's hand again.

"Hey Carol" he began and stupidly waited for a response. He sighed and gripped onto Carol's hand gently. "you know, I feel guilty as hell for not being there I shouldn't have left and I'm sorry, I'm god damn sorry" he breathed. Another tear rolled down his face, "Most of my life I've been a useless son of a bitch and worth nothing to anyone" he paused, "But now I'm gonna make it right for ya"

He breathed in slowly, "When you pull through this, I'm gonna send you away you and Sophia you don't have to see me again" he choked on one of his tears, "until then I aint gonna leave ya, I promise. Just open your damn eyes please" he uttered quietly.

He waited for a response and got nothing.

"It's okay" he sighed letting his hand rest with hers.

After a few moments of silence he suddenly his hand tighten as he felt a small squeeze back, he looked up sharply to see Carol's weak smile.

"Hey" she croaked attempting to sit up. Daryl grinned back through his tears and Carol calmly wiped them away lining his face with her finger, "Don't cry I'm still with you, I don't want to see you cry" she hissed weakly.

"You scared the shit out of me" he rasped swallowing dryly. She continued to smile,

"You don't need to be scared" her eyes wondered around the room slowly, "Where's Sophia?" she asked sleepily. Daryl stroked her hand gently, he nervously shifted in his seat.

"With Rick and Lori, they're taking care of her" She nodded pleased and stroked Daryl's hand back,

"That's good" she mumbled, Daryl smiled painfully and bowed his head as he felt himself beginning to break. He stood up sharply letting Carol's hand go, she stared up at him worriedly.

"You should rest up" he breathed, her eyes suddenly looked sad and she gripped onto Daryl's hand tightly. Daryl smiled to himself, _just like her daughter_ he thought amused.

"You just got here" she whined, he leaned over and kissed her hand gently before letting it go completely.

"I know but I got some things to sort out" he sighed sadly. She nodded understandingly and lay herself down gently.

"Hurry back to me soon?"

"Yeah" he muttered and then he walked out of the room. Maggie was still stood outside waiting, her smile brightened as soon as she watched him lean against the door. Her hand latched onto his,

"Are you okay?" she asked, Daryl slipped his hand away and nodded.

"Yeah" he lied.

But he wasn't at all okay.

…..

He had driven home through the darkness, by the time he had reached Carol's house all the neighbours were back in their homes and all the madness of the night had cleared up. He sloppily parked the truck in front of her house and made his way in. He walked up the stairs and entered Carol's bedroom, when he walked in the first thing he did was search for a suitcase which he found moments later under her bed along with her white lingerie. He set the suitcase on Carol's bed and began shoving her belongings into it.

After a few long minutes Daryl silently shoved the last bit of Carol's clothing into the suitcase, the darkness of her bedroom making it hard to see. He was sure this was enough; it had to be enough for her to leave with. She didn't have many things so maybe it was enough. He sighed miserably; he couldn't even get packing her suitcase right. He had checked over 3 times, she had everything although something was missing, but he couldn't understand what it was until it hit him.

Money

He quickly shoved his hand into his pocket to take out the remaining cash he had, but something made him freeze as his hand hit something hard. He lifted it out of his pocket delicately and suddenly felt a tight pain in his chest as he lifted the small sapphire ring out of his pocket. He shut his eyes tightly while his body bent forwards on top of the suitcase; he thrust his arms out quickly to avoid falling flat on his face. He shook while his hands squeezed the ring tightly almost to the point of the sapphire nearly cutting him. He didn't care about the pain, he deserved every little bit of it. All he cared about was Carol and he had fucked things over for her like he had everything else. He breathed deeply his heart racing beneath his shirt.

_I fucked Things up_

He shoved the ring back into his pocket and slammed the suitcase shut, he hid it in the back of her closet hiding it beneath a few old, worn out coats. As soon as the closet was shut and most of Carol's belongings were away he stumbled down the stairs and headed straight for Ed's alcohol cabinet. He quickly lost control; he began throwing them to the ground breaking almost every single one of them except for one. _The Bottle, Their Bottle_.

He pulled it out gently and stared at it. There was only half of it left but it was enough for him. He staggered over to the couch and popped the bottle open, pressing it to his mouth. After twenty minutes of drinking Daryl let himself drunkenly drift off to sleep.

….

It took Carol and entire painful week to recover for her and Daryl. He had been in pain every single step of the way the more he thought about the suitcase in the closet and what was coming soon. He hadn't been home once, he didn't bother to call or find out how Merle was. He didn't give two shits throughout that entire week he only called Rick to find out about Ed, they still hadn't caught him which infuriated Daryl. He wasn't going to let that bastard get away with what he did to her.

On Saturday evening the drive was long and silent, Carol and Sophia both slept in the back as Daryl drove down the icy roads from the hospital going through cigarettes quickly like they were candy. When he finally reached the empty house all he could see was the little suitcase tucked into the back of the closet.

_Today was the day_

Carol twirled out of the truck playfully and gripped both his and Sophia's hands; he was surprised at how happy she was to be home considering everything that went down. He stood in the doorway just watching the two of them walk through the house. He was completely emotionless. Carol turned to him, her smile shone brightly. She tangled her fingers with his and closed the door with her foot gently; he forced a small smile for her sake.

Without warning; Carol pressed her lips against Daryl's roughly. She clung to him tightly. He brushed his fingers over her body calmly.

"I love you so much" he exhaled his voice wobbled slightly.

"I love you too Daryl" she whispered against his jaw.

_Today was the fucking day_

She pulled away, smiling gently.

"When Sophia's in bed, maybe we could fool around a little bit" she grinned running her fingers up and down his chest. Daryl didn't know what to say, so he just nodded silently. She made her way towards the kitchen steadily and began to search through the fridge.

"Do you want me to cook?" she asked gently

"Nah, you should relax I'll just order out" he told her, chewing his lip slightly.

Carol's laugh filled the room.

"I'm not letting you eat that crap, I've still got a good meal left over from Christmas" she looked through the fridge for a few more moments and then lifted her head up again,

"I hope you're not tired of turkey" She grinned

It wasn't long before they were all around the table eating, Daryl picked at his food silently hardly putting anything into his mouth. His eyes were gentle and emotionless as he circled the food around on his fork silently. Carol stared at him for a few moments before slipping her hand on top of his, he didn't look up.

"Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head.

"Nah, I'm just tired that's all" he sighed

Carol smiled softly; her hand squeezed his causing him to look up this time. Her eyes were bright and hopeful unlike his.

"Maybe I could make you feel better"

Daryl pushed his plate forward while silently shaking his head; he wasn't in the mood for anything anymore.

"I don't feel like eating" he muttered quietly before creeping up the stairs and flopping on Carol's soft bed, it smelled like her. He wriggled uncomfortably out of his shirt and threw it across the room, his head dropped straight into the pillow and he was asleep within seconds.

He woke up a few hours later to Carol's gentle touch; her hands smoothened over his hair softly making him shiver. He didn't move he just lay there letting her get lost in his body.

"I just put Sophia to bed, maybe I could cheer you up" she muttered. Her arms wrapped around him tightly as she pressed her lips roughly to Daryl's. He moved his hands softly to her waist and pulled her away from him. She looked up at him helplessly but he just shook his head and laid himself back down on the bed quietly.

"I don't want sex" he began weakly, "I just…I wanna lie here with you" he said breathily reaching out to her.

"Daryl are you?-"

"Please"

Carol nodded and carefully set herself down next to him, without warning Daryl's arms were over her. He held onto her tightly with his head pressed into her back, he didn't want to let her go. After a few moments of just lying there, Carol felt Daryl shaking against her. Her hand stroked over Daryl's face, it came back damp.

"Daryl you're crying, are you alright?" she asked worriedly trying to turn over.

"I'm fine" he murmured, "Just quit askin' okay?" he breathed against her. Carol nodded understandingly and just stayed on one side letting Daryl hold her.

…

The bed squeaked as Daryl leaned over Carol, his fingers ran over her skin gently.

"Carol wake up" he whispered.

Her eyes flickered open slowly; she groaned quietly pulling the blankets over herself.

"What are you doing?" she asked sleepily, Daryl switched the lamp on and sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't answer her he just muttered simply,

"Get a jacket and Sophia and meet me in the truck"

Carol sat up slowly, her fingers wrapped around the nape of Daryl's neck softly.

"Daryl-"

He stood up from the bed making her stumble slightly, "Just move it…please"

Carol nodded silently and Daryl quickly scavenged through her closet grabbing the small suitcase, it shook as he held it. He paused just staring at it, he could just set it down and tell Carol to go back to sleep. But it was too late. He pulled the suitcase from the closet and stomped down the staircase without any hesitation.

He opened the glove compartment of the truck and pulled out two small train tickets

_Savannah, Georgia_

_5:45am_

He breathed in deeply, he had to stay strong and let them go. They were no good staying with him. After a few moments of waiting Carol and Sophia both sleepily climbed into the truck and he quickly sped off down the street not waiting for Carol to do her seatbelt. Her hand tightened around his arm sharply, her soft eyes had turned sour.

"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed angrily.

"You're leaving me" he sighed not taking his eyes off the road, he swerved slightly making Carol shift nervously. She stared at him, her eyes squinting.

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are" he began blankly; "You're going to Savannah without me. It's over between us" he told her flatly.

Carol shook her head, she gasped for air as she began to tear up.

"Don't do this to me Daryl, please" Carol croaked weakly, her hand tightened around Daryl's arm softly. He shook her off and sighed.

"I'm doing this so I can save you, to make sure Ed don't come after you and…" he paused for a moment, "So I don't fuck up your lives anymore" he breathed.

Carol bowed her head, she moved her hands trying to cup his face but he shrugged her off coldly and began to cry even more.

"You didn't fuck up our lives Daryl, you can turn around right now" she said weakly an awkward laugh came out of her, "We can live as a family together".

"I'm sorry"

"You said you weren't ever going to leave me" her voice cracked through the tears. He swallowed dryly, he hated acting so damn cold to her.

"That was before shit went down" he muttered stopping at a light. She opened her mouth and all that came out was a tiny croak, she tried to kiss him but Daryl shook his head shifting away from her.

"I love you" she breathed frantically.

He didn't respond.

"Tell me you love me, please" she cried trying to link her hand with his.

Daryl stayed in silence.

"Please"

He glanced over at her,

"You should go sleep in the back with Sophia, it's gonna be a long ride" he murmured Carol sat there with her mouth half open not knowing what to say, after a few moments of silence she crawled into the back seat clutching Sophia to her gently.

Once she was in the back he was finally able to breathe again.

Carol's steps stumbled when they finally reached the train station, she kept looking back at Daryl as if he was going to suddenly change his mind and take them home. But he didn't. He hauled their bags onto the platform after showing their tickets and waited in silence on the bench. Carol's fingers crept over to his and squeezed them gently. He glanced down at their entangled fingers and gave in slowly, he returned the squeeze and they both immediately exchanged sad looks. He swallowed dryly.

"I do love you, you know" he muttered. Carol smiled and sniffed softly, she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and kissed his softly.

"I know" Daryl smiled suddenly fighting back tears which were trying to escape. She turned to him blinking tightly before opening her mouth,

"Am I ever going to see you again?"

Daryl shook his head.

"You can't. Not with Merle and Ed there" he breathed deeply, "Live your life without me, I'm poison"

Carol shook her head; her fingers clasped his desperately as she stared at him.

"I don't want to, I want you!" she cried pulling him into a rough kiss. At first Daryl shut his eyes trying to fight it but soon he let himself give in, his eyes tightened while his fingers tangled messily in her hair. They kissed each other hard, kissing each other's lips, chin, jaw anywhere they could. Their tears met each other in the middle of their faces as they did.

Suddenly the sound of the train rumbled through the train station, they both let go of each other and stared neither of them knowing what to say. His stomach began to tighten and he felt sick. Carol turned to Sophia and took her hand leading her towards the train. He followed behind steadily.

"I'll meet you on the train" she whispered.

Before Sophia walked up the train's steps she moved to wrap her arms around Daryl tightly, pressing her head into his shoulder. He moved his arms around her holding her close.

"Goodbye lil girl" he muttered

Sophia pulled away; she smiled while shaking her head and simply said,

"I'm going to see you again"

Daryl nodded and grinned as he watched her climb onto the train leaving the two of them in silence on the platform. They both reminded silent until he remembered. He quickly slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the small Sapphire ring. Carol shook her head,

"Daryl no" she cried, Daryl ignored her and carefully slipped the ring into her jacket pocket.

"You keep it safe for me okay? It can be a lil somethin' if you get afraid" he smiled weakly. Before Carol could speak Daryl roughly pressed his lips against hers one last time, his hands cupped her waist gently.

"We're boarding in two minutes!"

They both looked up exchanging sad looks; he smiled nervously letting her go.

"You should probably get ya ride" he muttered taking a step back from her. She nodded shyly,

"Yeah"

His finger stroked her chin gently.

"_Stay safe for me?_"

"_Always"_ She smiled and then she climbed back on the train tearfully. The doors shut and the sudden roar of the train filled the station, he watched as they sat by the window cuddled up together. They both waved ferociously at each other and then,

They were gone.

He stood there silently suddenly unable to function.

A few hours later he pushed the door to his house open silently, it was in darkness just how he left it. He suddenly felt the force of Merle's hand slap him sharply,

"Where the hell you been? Boy?" he growled angrily.

Daryl shook him off and stomped to his bedroom ignoring Merle's angry yells, he slammed the door but the door quickly swung open again and Merle stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips.

"You with that bitch and her brat?"

Daryl leapt off his bed immediately and slammed Merle against the wall angrily,

"They're gone! They're fucking gone!" he hadn't realised he'd been screaming until he noticed his reflection in the mirror, "They're gone…They're gone" his words died down as he suddenly realised them. Merle's hand patted against him as his fists sunk down Merle's shirt along with his body,

"It's okay lil D" he breathed sinking down with Daryl.

"They're gone" he repeated

_They were gone and they weren't coming back_


End file.
